drXeNo – Page 8 – Ward Kadel

TasteLive! – Grillin' Some Chard(onnay)

July 11, 2011July 11, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoOne Comment

Backyards and BBQ's are known as tha bomb during the summer. Indeed, there should some sort of official right of passage, whereby one has enjoyed a tasty, home-hosted BBQ by the time one comes of age. And it becomes that much better when paired with wine. Trust me. I mean, microbrews and certain import beers are cool and all, but BBQ beef with a great Rhone or Syrah and BBQ chicken (beer battered!) with a tasty Chardonnay pretty much makes my day...or my week, even.

Newton Vineyard: A Mountain's Secret Garden

July 5, 2011July 5, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo2 Comments

I have the great fortune of being invited to a number of wine events each year. All of these events have their merits and many are very cool. It is the more rare event that completely rocks my vinous world, however. The annual Garden Party at Newton Vineyard (Facebook, WineLog), 600 feet above St. Helena on Spring Mountain was one of those rare events. Standing atop the mountain, with a 360 degree view of at least 65% of the entire Valley, with some glorious weather to complement the elegantly balanced Newton wines, paired with nibbles from étoile and the Lady by your side, it's a bit hard to *not* have a brilliant time. I decided to suck it up and a have a great time (tongue comfortably in cheek).

5 Questions with Gavin Chanin of Chanin Wine Co.

June 24, 2011June 24, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

I had quite a great time while moderating and tasting my way through the very cool California Pinot Noir: In Pursuit of Balance (Twitter) event, back in late March. It was there during the trade tasting at Rn74 (Twitter) that I had the great pleasure of trying two Pinots from a young winemaker by the name of Gavin Chanin, winemaker and proprietor of his relatively new, Chanin Wine Company (Twitter, WineLog). After getting to know a bit about Chanin while at the event, I resolved to find out more about this fresh winemaking personality and his myriad of fine vineyard connections and non-wine, artistic leanings.

TasteLive!: Pinot Noir & The Influence of AVA

June 21, 2011June 21, 2011Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoOne Comment

Some of my favorite wine events don't actually exist. Well, that's not quite right...they don't actually exist, physically. Some of the most interesting and educational tastings that occur each month take place virtually, over on the rather snazzy TasteLive! (Twitter, WineLog) Twitter-based tasting platform. Just in the last month they've had a phenomenal tasting of affordable Bordeaux hosted by Planet Bordeaux (Twitter, WineLog) and an even more comprehensive tasting of Spanish wines from Navarra, hosted by Wines of Navarra (Twitter, WineLog). Join us tonight 6-7pm PST, as we taste through three Pinot Noir for "Pinot Noir & The Influence of AVA."

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.