Live Wine Blogging Recap from #WBC12 – Reds

Recently, Dad (John), Colby, and I spent three jam-packed days in Portland, Oregon, for the fifth annual Wine Bloggers Conference. We were joined by over 350 fellow wine bloggers, wine industry participants, and media members for tastings, keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and visits to local vineyards and wineries.

During the conference, we participated in two Live Wine Blogging segments (Whites & Rosés on Friday and Reds on Saturday) which featured wines poured for us by winery representatives, often the winemaker or owner themselves, in a fast and furious “speed dating”-like format. We tasted and reviewed the wines live, posting comments on Twitter. Since many of you may not have been viewing the Twitter stream at that time, I am posting a recap here.

Here are the wines we tasted during the Live Wine Blogging – Reds session, listed in the order we tasted them, with my Twitter-style notes as well as Quality and QPR ratings:

NV Hope Family Wines Troublemaker Blend 3 (Paso Robles, California): Multi-vintage. Syrah, Gren, PS, Mourv. Black fruit, smoke.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $20

NV Riunite Lambrusco (Emilia IGT, Italy): Serve chilled. Simple, light, fruity, would be good with pizza on the deck.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $6

2010 Milbrandt Northridge Vineyard Malbec (Northridge Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): Gorgeous nose, blueberry, chocolate. Excellent!
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $25

2010 Longhand Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, California): BevMo! Vineyard Partner. Limited release. Bright red fruit. Yum!
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $30

2007 August Cellars Portus Augustus Dessert Wine (Oregon): Raisin, chocolate, very smooth.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $25 [375ml]

2010 Winderlea Legacy Pinot Noir (Dundee Hills, Oregon): Bright red fruit, good acidity, elegant.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $75

2009 Rodney Strong Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley, California): Big, bold yet smooth, black fruit, licorice. Outstanding!
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $75

2008 Styring Reckless Petit Verdot/Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Oregon): Big, dark fruit, mint, cocoa.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $35

2010 Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon): Bigger than avg Pinot, aromatic, smooth. Excellent!
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $30

2010 Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Claret (California): Label is first wine they made. Black berries, vanilla, spice.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Price: $17

While there were many good wines, as you can see from the Quality ratings, our favorite was the 2009 Rodney Strong Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon, followed closely by the 2010 Milbrandt Northridge Vineyard Malbec, 2010 Winderlea Legacy Pinot Noir, and the 2010 Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir.

Live Wine Blogging is a fast-paced process but lots of fun. In case you missed it, I posted a recap of the Whites & Rosés session last week.

Cheers!

Live Wine Blogging Recap from #WBC12 – Reds was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.