#OleWinos: MGWines Group's Lavia rocks the A+ #wine

We continued our #OleWinos adventure with host MGWines Group (WL, FB, Tw), at their stellar Bodegas Lavia (WL, FB, Tw) #wine estate in the Bullas DO (WL, FB). You might remember that I visited DO Bullas a couple years back during our #Murcia8 journey. It was wonderful to be back and to visit a new part of this small Spanish appellation, the smallest in the Murcia region of Spain.  It is here that MGWines found the latest jewel in their basket of unique, fine wineries across the multitude of Spanish wine regions.  Our host for this trip was again, winemaker Sebastien Boudon.  He splits his time between Sierra Salinas and Lavia, which are about 100 km apart from each other.  The rain and clouds followed us to Lavia as well, but that didn't stop us from taking in the striking mountainous surroundings of the Lavia estate. More details after the leap!

Mumm Napa Wine Blogger Brunch

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. ;-)

5th Annual New York Wine Expo 2012

It's not everyday that you can walk around and try wines from a bunch of countries, all in one nifty location. OK true, Walt Disney World's Epcot World Showcase is a pretty dang good time, regardless of whether you try wines from each country. But I can't think of another fully awesome wine experience that can compare to over 600 wines from 12+ countries, all for one single ticket price. The 5th Annual New York Wine Expo is your portal for crazy, round-the-world, like-a-G6-style wine tasting! What does that actually translate to in actual wineries on this fine weekend of March 2-4, you might ask...how about 150+ vintners, along with tons of gourmet food booths, and numerous wine seminars with which to treat your favorite Vinopanion. Now, it's only because I like you, but I have a special gift: type in the code VINOPANION for $15 off Friday night's festivities! Get the full deets after the break:

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

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.

WBC11 Hits Virginia with Le Wine Buffs in Tow

2011 North American Wine Bloggers' ConferenceAt 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.
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