This morning I ran across Little Gordon Ramsey. I know nothing about this kid, except that his take on Ramsey is spot on. Watch episode one, and then head over to YouTube for episodes two and three.

If you have yet to watch him do his show, you should jump over to Wine Library TV and have a look - after you watch our interview of course.

And then show some love in the comments section here. Do you have a question for Gary? Put it in the comments. I’ll be certain Gary sees ‘em. And just so ya know it looks like Gary is starting to do a WineWoot sort of thing with a daily wine special. Be sure to follow it on Twitter.

The winery that was presenting was Riverbench from Santa Maria, CA and after tasting a series of four different wines, its obvious that they have taken advantage of the unique micro-climates that the Santa Maria Valley provides. I happen to live about 15 minutes north and reap the benefits of the cool ocean breezes, the fog layers, and the moderately warm temperatures that has made the Central Coast an exceptional grape growing region. Now, mind you that as I am tasting the wines, it wasn’t until I was speaking with Riverbench’s brand manager Laura that she mentioned that the winemaker was Chuck “Mr. Chardonnay” Ortman, of Meridian lore. He has an amazing history of great wines and used to source grapes from RIverbench before coming to make their wines in 2006. (Here is an interview with Chuck in the March 2008 issue of Wines & Vines)

The wines we were tasting were the 2007 Bedrock Chardonnay, the 2006 Estate Chardonnay, the 2006 Reserve Chardonnay, and my favorite one of the afternoon, the 2006 Estate Pinot. I also understand that they have a wonderful 2006 Reserve Pinot but I will need to head to the winery for that.

The 2006 Pinot was everything I hoped for after tasting thru the very excellent Chardonnays. Chef Treadwell was serving up some gourmet pizzettas such as spinach and shrimp, a pancetta style bacon, tomatoes and I believe Fontina, and a tasty apple sausage. By the time I was poured the Pinot my taste buds were calling out for red and delicious. The full fruit aromas, noticeable and vibrant with a beautiful burgundy hue was punctuated by the extreme panorama from the outside tables of Lido. Sitting literally on the cliffs of the coast line, it would have been difficult to not be pleased by both the wine and view.

Now, I am by no means a cork dork, but I have been working on my tasting memory and right away I was surprised at the berries that sort of jumped out of this wine, both in aroma and in taste, delicate but not “jammy” if you know what I mean. Pinot is ever the seductive mistress of wines in my book, with the teasing perfumes, the tastes lingering on the tongue, and the feeling of wanting just a bit more when gone. Light, and balanced, this Pinot Noir is very drinkable, and when I get my hands on a few bottles I bet it will go well with a grilled lamb burger and asparagus. The tasting notes even recommended serving it with a spicy Thai risotto and calamari, which sounds great as well.

Go buy it. Seriously. Its a perfect Pinot to bring in the change of the seasons, and the change of the weather, especially if you are local to the central coast. Our hot days are gone, the fog is lingering a little longer in the morning, and the grill is begging for just a bit more attention. Its also a perfect way to see what Chuck is spending his time on now. And after being named “Mr. Chardonnay”, you know he is bringing all his tricks to this winery, his own touch to the Pinots.

If you like Chocolate, and we already know you like wine, Riverbench is having a Chocolate and Wine pairing on Saturday, September 6th from 5-7pm. I would see you there but I will be in the north county doing the color commentary at Cops and Robbers - where the ladies of the Central Coast Roller Derby take on The Sac City Rollers. If you happen to come to the Paso Event Center for the derby bout, please look me up over at the KZOZ tent.

So I don’t know anything about this wine, but I ran across an article about the person that recently redesigned the labels for Zull, an Austrian wine. Obviously striking a balance between youthful and modern, it looks as though this label change supports what the winery is calling their “Gentle Introductions” series of wines.

Erwin Bauer is the designer, and more of his work can be seen here. Do you have a favorite wine label? Your comments are appreciated.

Have you seen it? Let us know what you thought, but please don’t spoil the ending. Not like they did in that Titanic movie when the trailer showed the ship sinking. Almost made me not want to go watch the movie.

While the story about how I ended up with tickets in the front orchestra for a Sunday performance is interesting, it is not as interesting as the show itself. Now with my wife, partner and all-round amazing woman who sticks by me for more than my knowledge of a wine list on my arm, we head over to The Venetian and The Blue Man Theater. Head to the bar, grab a cocktail and make our way to the seat. Right away you have a sense that you are in for a treat when the left and right pillars begin speaking to you via a dot matrix display, red text on black ala Jenny Holzer.

Once the audience has taken the seats, and the LEDS have scrolled out messages and instructions, the stage opens to exactly what you expect: three blue dudes. What you don’t expect is the entire rest of the show.

The Blue Man Group has successfully combined Art, Science and Rock and Roll into such an entertaining performance of anything that I have seen since U2 dragged the ZooTV tour around the US. First off lets start with the Blue Men themselves. A trio of silent performers that speak only with their actions, most of which are minimalist head turns, arm waves or a deep stare down with bright eyes embedded in blue grease-painted bald heads. Creepy and yet endearing. They are obviously not from my neighborhood, nor my state for that matter, yet they are not so strange as to be aliens. With expressionless stares and percision timing The Blue Man Group takes you through a series of sets that incorporate visually splendid performance pieces set against a Phil Spector-style Wall of Sound. And throughout the performance, just when you think that things are explosive and can’t be topped…a BOOM and a BANG and they are off in another direction, providing another level of curiosity and amazement at their ability to make music from plumbing material, sonic percussions and eye bending graphical displays.

Now, what really got me excited about these guys was the educational value that was intertwined in their performance. I learned about cones and rods and nodes and networks and stuff I would have remembered from science class had I actually attended science class. They also reminded me about the concept or phrase about great music, that its not always the notes that are great, but the spaces between the notes. Their performance was restrained and yet massive at the same time, stopping at just the right moment for the audience to take it all in.

Now notice I am not telling you about each little bit they do. You have to go see it for yourself. If I were to describe it to you then a.) you wouldn’t need to to go and b.) I wouldn’t even begin to do it justice. Book your next trip to Vegas. Get tickets to The Blue Man Group. While we weren’t able to get a room at the Venetian we did stay a night at TI, which is right across the street from the BMG Theater and quite nicely remodeled for about a 100 bucks. It makes it a convenient walk in the 109 degree heat we had to deal with.

Seriously Blue Man Group for the win! They were brilliant performers, exceptional entertainers and above that, groundbreakingly entertaining. Like nothing you will see in a while, and I have seen quite a lot.

One - Scarlett Johansson
Two - Rebecca Hall
Three - Wine glasses. Lots and lots of wine glasses. Which to me continues to validate my affection for wine, beautiful women and Woody Allen.

“We will eat well. We will drink wine. We will make love”

Sounds like my life was being written into the script, until the WE in question was points one and two from above and Javier Bardem, handsome in that rogue-ishly Spanish sort of way, but well, not my cup of tea.

Noticeable in the trailer was the tactics employed by one Juan Antonio, that rouge-ish Spanish fellow. When Scarlett agrees to go to his room, she says he still has to seduce her. Cut to him opening the door with a glass of wine, Rioja most likely, in his hand. Note its just one glass. Then cut to SJ on the bed with what I can only presume is the same glass of wine. Hence, the axiom, that wine and an open collared shirt are two vital ingredients in the seduction game.

The movie is slated for release August 15th.

I thought this was pretty cool - Recycled Windshield Beer & Wine Glasses. The Uber-cool kids over at Uncrate uncovered these handmade recycled glasses from old, used auto windshields. Now I don’t know your drinking habits, but I would imagine that if you drop your drink at 55mph the glasses will shatter into thousands of little pieces. And as with autos - you can get the glassware tinted.

The Fume Blanc is actually a Sauvignon Blanc, renamed by the legendary Robert Mondavi when he brought the grapes to California. Mondavi died on my birthday, May 16 of this year at age 94.

As with all white wines, I tend to taste them at three various states of their changes in temperature. Right out of the cooler and into the glass, this Fume Blanc is crisp, light and very refreshing. Think Springtime. Think grapefruit and melon and a hint of grass or field coming off the nose. Think Sound Of Music running through the..wait.. nevermind.

As the wine begins to come to room temp, caught midway between crisp and heavy, I noticed that the Fume Blanc began to get a little big for a typical Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh fruits and a little more Oak than usually give it a nice layered complexity that will span a variety of light meats, and will do really well with a heavier salad like a ceasar.

Enjoyable, drinkable, and rooted in a history that belongs to California as well as the entire wine industry, grab a bottle the 2006 Mondavi Fume Blanc and enjoy the varietal that was established in 1968.

You will have to pass the age validation page, but once you do the Mondavi website is full of great content about their wines, but since their entire navigation system is in Flash, however, I can’t direct link you into the wine club.