#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!

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:

Newton Vineyard: A Mountain's Secret Garden

Newton VineyardI 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).

Rubissow Blogger Day on Mount Veeder

Rubissow Wines EstateAny vinopanion of mine can tell you that I love wines made from mountain fruit. Give me those highly structured, dark and angry-fruited wines any day of the week! They also might be able to tell you that I grew up in Napa Valley and so I have tasted quite a few wines from its many appellations. What they may not be able to tell you is that I grew up at the base of one of my top two favorite wine regions of the world...Mount Veeder. One morning in late August, I had the lucky opportunity to take part in an intimate escape to one of the few Mt. Veeder wineries that I had yet to visit, the craftsman Estate of Rubissow Wines.

Santa Lucia Highlands "Highlands' Fling!"

Santa Lucia Highlands "Highlands' Fling Gala"A few weeks back, I was treated to an enlightening appellation-specific tasting of Santa Lucia Highlands wines courtesy of the host, Hahn Family Wines. Santa Lucia Highlands sit on the southeast facing slopes of the Santa Lucia mountain range, on one side of the plentiful Salinas Valley. I made the somewhat significant trek down there with my trusty vinopanions, the Brix Chicks' Liza (Twitter) and Xandria (Twitter). I hadn't been down in the area since I was but a wee lad, noshing with me folks, so it was a treat to see the Valley again. It was in all of its late Spring splendor and we enjoyed taking in the bountiful scents of the fruits and vegetables growing near the highway.
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