Wine Reviews – Page 3 – Ward Kadel

Inaugural TasteLive! Café 140 Broadcast: Winemaker Patrick Krutz

May 12, 2012May 12, 2012Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

Regular followers of the Vinopanion wine madness know that I regularly partake in the fun online Twitter tastings, brought to us by TasteLive! (Twitter, WineLog). Many a post has been written and a wine has been reviewed about their solid tastings. Now the innovative wine minds behind #tl_wine are kicking it up a notch, launching Café 140 as their latest online, and now physical, wine & lifestyle event series.

#Navarra5 Day 3: The Old & the Pago

May 7, 2012May 7, 2012Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo2 Comments

Dawn broke for our third day (9/21/11) in the Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) with brilliant signs pointing to even more glorious weather to accompany our travels around this Spanish wine kingdom. From the window of my hotel room at the historic Palacio Guandelain in Pamplona, I could see and hear the rumblings of the (rare) early rising Navarrans in the plaza that stretched out from the hotel front. I couldn't wait to get started on our travels back to the Ribera Alta sub-region of the Navarra DO appellation. I felt rather rested, since I had given my body the morning off from my usual run, following my great success at getting thoroughly lost, the prior morning.

Mumm Napa Wine Blogger Brunch

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

Bubbly is a beautiful thing. Sparkling wine has always been considered a wine of celebration; its intriguing bubbles rising up to toss forth a froth of scented effervescence, enlivening spirits at any accompanying event. For me however, bubbly, bubbly, and more bubbly is the way that I prefer to shimmy through life. My lady Elizabeth Fontaine, the beguiling star behind the brightness of my life, would only agree, with a most sensible of nods. Bubbles are her vinous companion, and at times, her artistic muse. We go through stretches where there is a bottle of bubbly to accompany each day...the other nice thing about sparkling wine is its low percent alcohol. ;-)

TasteLive! – Rodney Strong's 23rd Annual Wine & Chocolate Fantasy Pre-Tasting

January 24, 2012January 24, 2012Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

TasteLive! (WineLog, Twitter) is back at it again, with yet another great online Twitter tasting for us wine and chocolate grubbing fools. On the night of 01/26/12 at 6pm PST, we're taking in another seasonally appropriate wine and food pairing by pre-tasting some of the wines and chocolates that will be at Rodney Strong's 23rd Annual Wine & Chocolate Fantasy event, just in time for Valentine's Day.

#Navarra5 Day 2: Lost in Iruña, Malón de Echaide, & Bodegas Finca Albret

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

Our second full day in Kingdom of Navarra (Twitter, Facebook) (day 3 if you're counting our travel day) started off a bit scary, due to the usual amount of stupidity that I tend to afford myself. As you've probably noticed from my previous post about Day 1 in Navarra, I love to go on a run in the cities that I visit around the world. I feel that it is one of the best ways to get to know a new foreign land and its people. Like ~~an idiot~~ always, I only carried my hotel keycard and a bit of cash in case I got into trouble and needed a taxi. I then headed out way before dawn at about 5:50am to streets unknown. Oh, and did I neglect to mention that I have absolutely no sense of direction?...I'm a total Marcus Brody. An hour later, my 20 minute jog has clearly turned into the definition of a lost tourist, replete with Spanglish as my only tool to communicate...no phone to call for a taxi, nor to even let my #Navarra5-mates know why I wouldn't be in the lobby at 7:45am!