The Good

Times is good for funny wine blog posts this week. If you follow a lot of the wine bloggers that I do, you have doubtless been kept in stitches following their RSS feeds. There were simply too many great posts this week to narrow the list down to a single one, so here are a few of my favorites from the last week -

Hardy Wallace is a bad mutha! He gets all crunk talkin’ about making some natural wine (the secret is a big-ass can of Tecate, or talons, or something). Just be careful if you are at work or around impressionable children, as there is just a touch of cussin’ in the vid.

I know, it’s probably horribly inappropriate for me to put a link to one of my own posts here, but hell, I own the place, so I make the rules. I have a little fiction meets reality piece that I posted this week, and I’ll leave you to guess which parts really happened.

Next, I submit for your approval, another piece of profane performance art, compliments of Mr. Joe Roberts and Mr. Josh Wade (the lesson here is that swearing is funny). The good folks at Jordan Winery did a fantastic job of putting together video diaries during the recent wine bloggers conference, and this one is the funniest thing that I’ve seen coming out of the event.

And finally, the coolest wine interview in the history of wine blogging. 1WineDude makes his second appearance on the list for his EPIC interview with rock bass virtuoso cum winery owner, Les Claypool. I’ve been a huge Primus fan for many years, so it was with a little jealousy that I read Joe’s interview of the man behind the band. Joe is pulling out some killer interviews recently, so keep watching.

The Bad

The bad this week is the news (via Catie, the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman) that some in the Walla Walla wine community have not been thrilled with the results of having 300 wine bloggers descend on their city. The good news is, that these people seem to be in the minority. As a wine blogger, I really want the community of Walla Walla to feel like the conference was a positive for them, and for Washington wine. I feel like a lot of good word of mouth has been generated for the area, and I hope that the dissenting voices will agree in the long run.

The Ugly

This week, the Ugly is taking the form of guest post by Jennifer R Thomson of Thomson Vineyards. Without further ado, here’s Jennifer -

The landmark Pinot Noir growing region Los Carneros that many call
the Godfather AVA of Napa and Sonoma has battled some of
the most daunting and extremist scenarios since the first wine grapes
were planted there in the 1960s. Dry farmed because there is no water.
A Winery Definition Ordanince seeking to either do away with or retain
the lay of the agricultural land and heritage. Shootouts are an every
other day occurrence between growers and winemakers on Los Carneros
Avenue. And lets not forget pests like the juice sucking European
Grapevine Moth (EGVM). Yet Carneros has shown the ability to rival the
mecca – Burgundy.

Today, Carneros is worse off than ever before. Without a host winery
willing to step up and keep their tasting room doors open from 5-7 p.m.
July 15, 2010 for the worldwide Pinot Noir
Twitter Tasting and Smackdown. You heard right. The favored AVA to
take all 7/15 and no winery to celebrate when the announcement is made
that Carneros Pinot Noir is the people’s choice. How do you think they
celebrated in 1976, that little monumental occasion we’ve all heard so
much about? In their basements? No! They broke out a few dozen cases
more and put Carneros on the map!

In a forward display of unity, “The Old Guard” Thomson Vineyards circa 1938 and “The New Guard”
Vineyard Vlog circa 2009 have formed a united Pinot Noir front to host a
tasting for our local community in Carneros.  We seek a winery in Los
Carneros (Napa or Sonoma) with WiFi, glassware and PINOT! We’ll do the
rest. To host the Carneros Smackdown Party of the century email us at thomsonvineyards@gmail.com
or info@winesoiree.com.

Image courtesy of the Thomson Vineyards blog

Thanks to Jennifer and Andrew for leading the charge for this event. It’s going to be a great time, and I hope our Carneros friends get the party they deserve. Remember, look for the #pinotnoir hashtag on July 15th!

Cheers!