Hello everyone and today is February 24.  And on this day in 1863, Arizona is organized as an United States Territory.

And there are so many directions we can go with this.
 

Sure, they got some interesting wineries there like Caduceus Cellars at Merkin Vineyards.  (Yes, I said “merkin”) Which is owned by Maynard James Keenan, who is widely known in some “Perfect Circles” as the co-founder of the band “Tool”  (Maynard fans will get the Perfect Circles reference).
 
So, I could talk about tools used in the vineyard and winery, but I’m certainly not going to talk about merkins.
 
Arizona is a crazy place as far as climate diversity goes.  Many people associate the state with a desert climate.  But did you know that over 27% of Arizona is forest?  In fact, the largest stand of Ponderosa Pines in the world is in Arizona.  Which could bring us to our Wine Word of the Day: the tasting term “Ponderous”.
 
But it doesn’t.
 
I’m gonna save that word for something more strange in the future…although it might be tough to top “Merkin” for the name of a vineyard in terms of strangeness.
 
So, here we go. Arizona’s economy relies on the “five C’s”: copper, cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate (tourism).  I know this to be true because Wikipedia said so.  So, that brings us to our Wine Word of the Day: Cooper.
 
Oops! No. There’s a typo there… I meant to say our Wine Word of the Day is: Copper!
 
It turns out that Arizona produces over 66% of our nation’s output of copper. And, (here it comes), copper, in very tiny doses, has been used in wine making for hundreds of years to reduce the hydrogen sulfide compounds that yeast may create during an unhealthy fermentation.  Without a super-small addition of copper sulfate the wine could smell like rotten eggs.
 
And nobody wants that.
 
For transcripts links and more podcasts please go to winewordoftheday.com. We’ll give you a penny for your thoughts if you would send them to wwd@moonstonecellars.com and until next time, CU later!  Get it? Cu is the elemental symbol for copper!
 
Audio Show Notes:
 
Grape Stomper Todd and Pour Relations Jill try to do the show in one take..listen to see if they pull it off!
 
News topics:
– Hard to pronounce wine names are perceived to taste better.
– Skinning Girl is launching a new 100 calorie wine.
– White Castle hamburger joint now serving wine.
– Trends are favoring lighter wines.
 
Todd and Jill discuss what they are drinking and talk about apostrophes.
 
New show segment: “Al In Good Taste”. “Useless Knowledge Al” reads the tasting notes for 2009 Westside Merlot.
 
Tasting Room Tidbits
– Dog of the Day stalks Al. New accessories for dogs are considered
– New club members welcomed and thanked.
– Club member anniversaries announced.
– Moonstone Music Monday winners announced.
– Overheard in the Tasting Room (the funny things we hear tasters say).
– Todd considers polyandry for his wife with bottles of wine.
 
Ask Grape Stomper Todd
– What’s the difference between sweet wines and fruity wine?
 
Send “Get Well” cards to Jill.
 
Todd talks up Andrew Dawson, our voice over artist. And plays a clip from his Tower Heist commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Micetro9999?feature=results_right_main
 
 

Also recommended by Grape Stomper Todd

	Old Dutch 7-1/2-Inch Copper Wine Chiller		Old Dutch International 11½ Inch x 11½ Inch x 10 Inch Antique Copper 4 Bottle Wine Chiller, RM
	Wine Faults: Causes, Effects, Cures		Battleship Arizona’s Marines At War: Making the Ultimate Sacrifice, December 7, 1941

Hey Moonstoners,

Grape Stomper Todd, here!  I wanted to take a moment to thank you for stopping by the new website.  It is still a work in progress but our goal is to make it more entertaining and educational.

For entertainment value, check out Moonstone’s Music Mondays.  There we will conduct weekly contests where you try to guess how wine is connected to certain song.  If you guess right you win the song!  We all hope to discover new music this way and make Mondays more fun.

For educational (and hopefully entertainment) value, check out Ask Grape Stomper Todd.  Submit questions to me and I’ll try to answer them in our video podcast.  If we use your questions, we’ll send you a discount coupon!

Another “edutainment” feature is our Wine Word of the Day audio podcast.  You can listen to this online, download to your iPod via iTunes, or you can just read the transcripts.

Then there is this blog.  As stuff pops into my head, I’ll jot it down here.  No guarantees if anything I write here will be educational or entertaining.  But at least you can write back in the comments to let me know how you feel about it!

Until next time, cheers to you!

-GST