February 2011 – Ward Kadel

5 Questions with Three Thieves

February 24, 2011February 24, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo2 Comments

It's not every day that we as wine lovers get to stumble upon a truly good show about wine. I'm not talking about something that involves some guy dressed in tails and swishing aged, thin wine in his mouth and spitting...no, I'm talking about three renegades digging deep around the world to find new wines to grow, to sell and to chug by the bottle: Three Thieves (Twitter) aren't here to mess around. Already known around the wine biz as the triumvirate to buck any stodgy trend with their affordable and tasty jug wine, Bandit Tetra Pak wines for that on the go tipple among many other fun and innovative wine brands, the guys have fully branched out with their first tv gig, Three Thieves now on The Cooking Channel. I managed to hunt down thief Charles Bieler (Twitter) to chat about his Cooking Channel adventures with his fellow vino amigos, Joel Gott (Twitter, WineLog) and Roger Scommegna.

Vintners Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Inductees

February 14, 2011February 14, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoOne Comment

Last November I had the distinct pleasure to again welcome the newest class of wine legends into the Vintners Hall of Fame (VHoF) at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA. The previous year's luncheon and gala for the 2010 inductees were quite the shindigs and so I was very thankful to be invited back as a member of the wine media. The 2011 class of VHoF members is another set of US wine icons and the upcoming celebratory gala should be another extremely memorable night.

P.S. I Love You kicks it Dark & Delicious

February 9, 2011February 9, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoOne Comment

You can walk up to any wine-o-phile and ask them about the wines that they love the most and they'll probably toss out some famous name from Napa, Sonoma, Bordeaux, Burgundy or what have you. But if you were to pour them another glass, compliment their good looks and expound upon their precise palate, you might just find that they'll open up a bit more and tell you about their "pet wines:" wines that they seek out and which light their face up whenever they successfully discover a new one. One of my pet wines are none other than the true Pet, ie. Petite Sirah. While a professed fan of cool climate, balanced wine I can't help but fall over my feet (before AND after) whenever I spot a Petite Sirah within close proximity of my glass hand. It is with this in mind that I'm foaming at the mouth at the return of PS I Love You's Dark & Delicious annual Petite Sirah fest at Rock Wall Wine Company, Alameda CA on 02/18/11.

The 9th Annual Pinot Noir Summit

February 5, 2011February 5, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo4 Comments

I'm very happy to announce that one of the coolest wine events of the year is coming back to the Bay on 02/26/2011 with the arrival of the 9th annual installment of The Pinot Summit (Twitter). Spanning three different segments that day, attending the whole Summit gives you access to almost 9 full hours of delicious Pinot and tasty morsels. It is one of the most educational and complete consumer trade events that I've ever seen and it will definitely leave your bellies and brains full of new flavors of and knowledge about Pinot Noir. Best of all?! I've got an awesome contest to win some wine from one of the Summit finalists! More after the break...