Wine Review: Robert Oatley McLaren Vale 2014 GSM (Grenache Shiraz Mourvédre)

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. All of January WAS White Wine Month but that's over now. I've got one last wine for ya this month and it's a red one.

Bob Oatley sadly just died on the 11th of January. He founded Rosemount in the 1970's and since then has made many different labels all over Australia. This one is from the Robert Oatley Signature Series and it's out of McLaren Vale, South Australia.

GSM stands for one of the most classic red blends ever. Blending Grenache, Syrah and Mourvédre came out of Rhone Valley and has been replicated all over the wine world, but it's been in California and Australia where it's done best outside of Rhone itself. However, in Australia they call their Syrah by another name: Shiraz.

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Wine Review: Robert Oatley Margaret River 2013 Chardonnay

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

Bob Oatley sadly just died on the 11th of January. He founded Rosemount in the 1970's and since then has made many different labels all over Australia. This one is from the Robert Oatley Signature Series and it's out of Margaret River.

Margaret River is the hot wine region in Australia right now. Rather than being in the southeast of the continent, it's way over on the other side by the western coast. Their Chardonnays are especially exploding in popularity and deservedly so. They're awesome. Sales for the country's wine industry has been rough the past few years, but hopefully Margaret River can lead the way for Australia to get back into people's wine glasses.

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Never go there, Simba.

Mufasa gives Simba a valuable lesson on adult beverages.

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Wine Review: Aia Vecchia Vermentino 2014 Toscana

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

VVVVVVVVERMENTINOOOOOOOO!!! Another Italian white wine starting with a V. There's gotta be like, what, two dozen of those? Vermentino is big on the island of Sardinia but also has plantings here and there on the Italian mainland and southern France. This one is from Tuscany and it's by Aia Vecchia, a winery located between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci.

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Wine Review: Masseria Li Veli 2013 Fiano

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

Puglia's been kinda killing it out there on the wine scene. I see more and more impressive stuff coming from the high-heel of Italy's boot being poured into my glass all the time, and Masseria Li Veli is one of the wineries leading the way in the Puglia emergence. Fiano is a white variety that's actually more known for its wine from Campania and Sicily, but Puglia does a ton of stuff from other regions just as good or even better than their hometowns. This Fiano is also organic.

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Speed dating and dessert wine

Daaaaaamn!

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Wine Review: Fattoria La Valentina 2014 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

This is Pecorino the wine, not the cheese. Although, being a cheese addict, I wouldn't mind if it was the cheese. Pecorino is a white grape found in eastern Italy, mostly around Marche and Abruzzo. Pecorino Colline Pescaresi is an IGT within Abruzzo just for the varietal. Fattoria La Valentina was established in 1990 and also makes Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo and Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo.

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Wine Review: Tenuta Le Calcinaie 2013 Vernaccia di san Gimignano

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

There's some wines that let you travel back in time. And even though (until Louis Pasteur came around) wine was more like an alcoholic vinegar than as we know it today, there can be a deep tradition and history and sometimes you can just sense it. The Vernaccia variety has been made into wine in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano since seemingly forever, and it's one of the most ancient wines we know of. Pope Martin IV would drown eels in Vernaccia and eat them, washing them down with the wine. Yum yum.

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GUEST BLOG for Dracaena Wines: Daddy needs to study... and blog about booze

"Starting from knowing ZERO about a topic with the goal of becoming a SPECIALIST on it within a year is a tall order. Especially when you're trying to juggle being a daddy, being a husband, working 40+ hours a week, getting sleep, and maintaining your own happiness. Also, being stubborn, I refused to put the blog on hold. I worked hard to get that blog going, so you can add cranking out articles and reviews to that list." - Daddy needs to study... and blog about booze

When Lori from Dracaena Wines was so cool to write a guest blog for TheWineStalker.net (Why being a winemaker is awesome- or not) I asked her to think about what she would like me to write about for her website to return the favor.

Lori is a lot like me in perfectionism and ambition professionally while being laid back personally. Knowing this, she asked me to write about my experience when I was studying for the Certified Specialist of Spirits test, all while having real responsibilities and writing a wine blog. So yes, this is another Society of Wine Educators related blog post. But this one underscores how obsessively crazy I can be.

"When I go for something, especially when it's a notch in the belt or letters after my name, I go at it hardcore. There is no way I'll allow myself to blow an opportunity that will benefit me for the rest of my life." - Daddy needs to study... and blog about booze

READ MY GUEST BLOG FOR DRACAENA WINES!

http://bit.ly/winestalkerguest 

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Sex, wine and algebra.

"I wouldn’t have minded school if they taught you important things like how to have good sex and what brand of wine is the best… But for some reason they were hell bent on teaching me algebra.” - Ben Mitchell

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