Sparkling Wine – Page 2 – Ward Kadel

Speedy Holiday Wine Recommendations

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

The holidays get busy. You barely have time to shop, decorate, make food, attend parties, try not to get drunk and, OH YEAH, still work! All of this stress adds up, manifesting itself in strange ways and differently within each person, as evidenced by the varying types of "holiday spirit" seen in the photo on the right. You don't have time for this! Your time is too precious to waste upon wondering which kind of wine to bring to coworker Aaron's holiday party and wait, is it Aaron or Erin...CRAP, you're so stressed you can't even remember! It is with these conundrums in mind that I have constructed my Vinopanion holiday wine recommendations and pairings, listed below. Short, sweet (or dry!) and to the point. Let's drink.

WBC11 Hits Virginia with Le Wine Buffs in Tow

July 21, 2011July 21, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo3 Comments

2011 North American Wine Bloggers' Conference

At this point, my regular readers should know quite well about my participation in the cra cra known as the North American Wine Bloggers' Conferences (Twitter, WineLog). We're coming up on the 4th in this great series, after the huge success in 2008, 2009 and 2010. This year we're invading Charlottesville, Virginia for our very first time plundering the wine life on the right coast (and East Coast wine bloggers rejoice). The state of Virginia has been exceptionally supportive and I'm looking forward to learning a ton about 5th largest wine producing state in the Union. Between the Keynote from Jancis Robinson (Twitter), the Virginia Wine (Twitter) Reception at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello for dinner on Friday, another Keynote from Eric Asimov (Twitter) and the annual Vineyard walks in the local wine country, #WBC11 looks to be just as stunning a time as years' past.

Slingin' the Pinot [for] Days

June 14, 2011June 14, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

I don't know if my life has turned the speed of time to 11 or what this year, but it's already time again for one of the best SF wine events of the year: 7th Annual Pinot Days 2011 (Twitter). Last year's event was a must attend and this year Lisa and Steve Rigisich et al, have added a slew of additional events for the entire week of festivities and have expanded many wine regions to make this one even mo' betta. How can such a fine vino event get any better, you ask? Try upping the number of producers over the 200 mark (over 400 Pin ot Noir), organizing "the largest presence of Oregon producers ever gathered outside of Oregon" [I'm excited about this one], a fantastic online charity auction and a new Burgundy Corner to showcase the birthplace of this finicky but fine grape variety.

Today's Bordeaux is in New York City?!

June 9, 2011June 9, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo3 Comments

My regular readers know that the Enjoy Bordeaux Le Wine Buff's took NYC by storm a couple months back, helping host the Snooth and Ziff Davis TechEnology event, back at the end of March. It was there that we battled the East Coast urban prejudices against affordable, quality Bordeaux and taught them who's boss. Well the Buffs are headed back the East Coast to jury the 2011 Today's Bordeaux: Top 45 Affordable Bordeaux Under $45 and I have to say, it's gonna be great. For when Bordeaux hits the Big Apple, it's sure to be culinary and vino awesomeness!

VinTank Deals Wines from the Vines

December 23, 2010December 23, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

Crazy-smart wine biz innovators VinTank (Twitter), have successfully launched a new route on the Direct To Consumer (DTC) superhighway with their Deals from the Vines Facebook Group (DFTV). A relatively new feature on Facebook, closed Groups are an elegant yet simply powerful new component of the social media behemoth. VinTank has seized upon this new feature to form their version of the popular flash sales site phenomena that has taken over the interwebs during this Great Recession. While many of these sites have proven to be quite the boon to the budget-conscious wine consumer, they are not always so profit-friendly to the wineries, chateaux, Bodegas and Quintas that have participated in the various sales. VinTank's DFTV has already effectively smacked that paradigm with vigor, creating a sweet win-win for wino's and wineries, alike.