I don't know a lot about Spanish wines, especially not Spanish sparkling wines (known as Cava, but its something I would love to know more about.

If you feel the same you may want to check out Taberna Del Alabardero on September 8th. They are having a wine dinner featuring Cava wines.

I got an email from the head Sommelier, with a heads up about this event and the menu looks very impressive. If you don't have any plans it looks like it will be a lot of fun and a chance to try something new.

I am a big fan of Dr. Vino, like many other wine bloggers his was the first wine blog I read, and I still enjoy reading it. That being said, I have to disagree with his Op-Ed column in the Times.

I have no issue with the idea of wineries and wine consumers becoming more ecologically aware, and I am not enough of a snob to think that wine only has to come in a bottle. In fact, I have plugged the French Rabbit wines several times.

There are two issues I have with the column:

1. I'd like to see some evidence to back up his claims about the carbon footprint, in particular if the 3 liter boxes generate half the carbon footprint during shipping, then why wouldn't 3 liter bottle do the same?

2. 97% of wines are meant to be consumed within a year? Most winemakers I know claim that their reds can age 5-10 years or more and even their whites can age 2-3 years.

But, ultimately, I think his piece ignores a fundamental truism about wine: Wine is about the experience, the excitement of opening the bottle and trying something new. Boxed wine is the opposite of that, boxed wine is about sameness about making every box the same. It is assembly line wine making.

His claim is that switching to more boxed wine will help increase wine sales, but if there is no excitment, no anticipation, if it is the same as buying a 6-pack of Pabst, then how will that encourage more people to drink?

Instead of looking at new packaging, if you want to help reduce the carboon footprint of your wine consumption, buy more wine from local wineries. If your local wineries suck, encourage them to make better wine. Sound ridiculous? It is no more ridiculous then asking boxed wine makers to make better wine.

I saw the Icewine from Denali Winery while we were in Skagway and the presentation is aweseome! It even includes a little jar with gold flecks in it.

It looks like most of the grapes Denali uses are sources from Washington State, but the wines are made on site.

Much more wine stuff to come...I'll be back on Tuesday.

Wine: Fabbioli Cellars 2005 Tre Sorelle



Review: In 2006, when I reviewed the 2004 vintage of this wine, Doug was just getting started with his own winery. Two and half years later Fabbioli Cellars is a must-visit on the Loudoun wine trail.

A friend of mine was having a bad day at work on Friday. I keep a small wine rack on my desk usually stocked with 3 or 4 bottles, so I called her down to split a bottle of the Tre Sorrelle and vent.

The 2005 Tre Sorrele is a blend of 65% Merlot, 20% Tannat and 15% Petit Verdot. This is a spicy wine with a strong oaky taste and black currant flavors. It has aged well and has a soft finish with light tannins.

A good wine to enjoy on a bad Friday or any other time.

Price: $24

Grade: 95

I'm leaving for an Alaskan cruise this Thursday. The cruise leaves from Seattle, so we are going to hang out there for a few days. While we are out there we are going to check out some of the wineries in Seattle.

Which got me thinking: how many wineries are in Alaska? It turns out there are four of them. Unfortunately, none of them are in places where we are going to stop. But, it looks like many of the wines are available at Wines International in Ketchikan, which is part of our trip :).