Go on…. Close your eyes; breathe deep. Do you smell it? White flowers, a hint of ocean air and beach grass, something honeyed and sweet. Yes! It’s summer!

A few weeks ago a trip to New York City gave me the same thrill. No, I wasn’t in Central Park. I was at Hearth in the East village having dinner – and the Somellier/Owner Paul Grieco, apparently relishing my enthusiasm for wine, had just placed a glass of Bukettraube in front of me. Of course, he didn’t tell me it was Bukettraube. We were playing a little game of  “Guess That Vin….”

Head over to Wicked Local today to hear more about my blind tasting fun and the delightful surprise on my glass that night!

Have you ever experimented with blind tasting?

This week we have a little something for every food and wine lover! Let’s start with the “real” juice:

Just a few days ago Wine.com launched a new version of its old self, wineshopper.com. Who does this new site benefit? Those looking for more rare, esoteric or otherwise small production, lesser available/known stuff. The site also features special deals of the day by way of email blasts. Do you think you’ll investigate this new wine buying opportunity?
We also learned this week about a specialty vinegar on the market, which apparently has chef’s jumping out of their skin. Minus 8 is an Ontario-based outfit that harvests grapes  at precisely that temperature – sort of like ice wine, but for food lovers! Check it out.

Last but not least, our friends at Divas Uncorked are gearing up for their annual food and wine fest out out the Vineyard. The event is a weekend affair August 12 – 15 and features various festivities all about the island. You can choose to attend certain events “a la carte” or buy the all-access pass. More information is available here.

Ever heard of the French village of Cairanne? Neither had my GPS…

Not terribly far outside of Avignon in the Vaucluse region, Cairanne is a very tiny locale gaining increased consumer recognition for their outstanding Rhone vin. I had some early introduction to the wares from this region because my wine mentor is a huge fan of Gigondas and Vacqueras wines, a stone’s throw from Cairanne. Cairanne provided an opportunity to enjoy wines with tremendous concentration and sense of place, without commanding the bigger bucks of its highly regarded neighbors.

Three years ago my interest and appreciation of these wines was further piqued when I had the opportunity to meet a tremendously talented winemaker at a Boston wine trade event. Who was it, you ask? Pop over to Wicked Local today to find out!

Have you brought home a Cairanne recently? From which producer?

Perhaps you also have been experiencing technical difficulties what with the storms we’ve been having around Beantown this month (feels more like July/August, no?). Nevertheless, we’re going to try to get back on our game here at Pour Favor for some more regular wine fodder – internet outages be damned!

This week we have some wine for thought the queue, so we’ll keep things briefer on this end.

Check out this new company/wine tasting program out in California. The Tasting Room offers consumers a chance to sample uber premium wines before taking the plunge and buying a full 750ml bottle. Of course this service isn’t on offer in Massachusetts what with our liquor laws, no doubt. But the idea raises a couple of interesting questions. Do you think you’re more apt to buy a full bottle after sampling wines you have to pay for? Here in MA it is illegal for retail shops to charge for wine tastings so you still have the option to sample for FREE and then make a purchase. Is their program too contrived because there are only certain producers who participate?

And then there is the age-old (lol) question of what the heck the deal is with “Old Vines”. Does it matter how old the vines are? And how old does the vine have to be to be old enough? Etc. Etc. Matt Kramer does a good job of starting the dialog on this tricky topic. Check it out! We might have to weigh in one of these days on our own….

What do you think constitutes “old vines”? Are you more apt to buy a bottle if it claims as much on the label?

And…. We’re off! The World Cup games have started so it is definitely time to uncork a few bottles and celebrate the games. Of course there’s no better way to do that than traveling the world a bit. This month our Wicked Wine tour starts in France, travels to Italy, then comes back to Portugal and ultimately flies south of the equator to the home of the games: South Africa. Who are you rooting for?

Which of these picks gets the most points on your tally sheet?