One.org & American Idol

So this isn't really about wine, it's more about poverty & our responsibility to help those in need. I don't know how many of you all caught the special American Idol Gives Back show last night, but it was pretty incredible. I was celebrating with my friend Tony last night at his bachelor party and easily dropped a couple of hundred bucks on drinks, food, and fun. It really hit me hard today to watch the show and see just how bad things are in Africa as well as parts of the United States -- and to know how good we have it. I feel incredibly compelled to do something more about it. We give money to some charities throughout the year, but it really unfortunately takes some graphic window into that other world to motivate me (and I'm guessing most) into action. I don't mean to pontificate on something that I've been very lax about, but I think every little discussion or mention will go miles on the road to saving people's lives.

I matched the money I spent last night on fun & frivolity to the American Idol Gives Back drive. I also volunteered with www.one.org which is spearheading efforts to make a real difference through education and open dialogue. Their philosophy is that if America would spend just 1% of its budget in a years time we could virtually wipe out poverty, hunger, and many of the medical issues affecting these same people.

Back to wine now -- I think what we'll do this Sunday night (4/29/07) and every last Sunday in the month going forward is to give back through wine. We'll donate 50% of our proceeds on those nights to fight poverty, help educate, and provide medical help. I know this might seem like a very small thing, but for our growing business it's a pretty big deal. I like the fact that it's directly proportional to what you all do. I challenge those of you who have the time and feel this on your heart to come by on Sunday and learn a little more about the problems and what we all can do collectively to help eradicate them.

I feel very blessed to have a great family, good friends, and a very wonderful business that I'm passionate about; but I also feel that life just gets too hectic and we don't necessarily do the very important things. I am as guilty as anyone. And I want to change that.

I'd recommend checking out www.one.org and challenging yourself to get involved. See you soon...



/mike

Wines & Costco

Here's a head's up to all of you loyal Cask Room friends. The wonderful 2002 Jocelyn Cabernet Sauvignon we carried in January of last year is available at Costco (at least the Mission Valley store -- sorry, Tony!). It's only $24.97 -- which is a killer price, considering my wholesale on it last year was $20/bottle! Why is this significant? Starting with the '03 vintage, the winery is contracting with a different grape source. The stellar '02 (90 pts. Wine Spectator) was a blend of a few different vineyards from the valley, but the '03 and the '04 are now sourced from the Stagecoach Vineyard near Atlas Peak. I've tasted all three, and while the styles are similar, it's the '02 that remains the really "special" wine. The '02 has been out of the distribution network -- so, the only place to get it is those retailers who already had it -- hence, Costco. I'm guessing the distributor sold the remainder of his allocation directly to Costco. At any rate, those of you who were sad when we took it off the list, here's your chance to grab a few more bottles!

Welcome to our new blog!

Well, it was bound to happen. I have far too much random facts and information in my head, so it's time to share that with you all. I thought that having a blog would be a nice way to share some information about wines I try, rumors I hear, and links to get you all excited and educated about wine. So, for the inaugural post, I am going to share one of my favorite websites with you. It's called Cellar Tracker, and it's an exhaustive & free tool to keep track of your wine collection. There's some great community based tasting notes, scores, drinking windows for knowing when to crack that special bottle you're saving, plus an awesome array of reports to see exactly how much wine you actually consume ('ya lush!). Plus, did I mention it was FREE?

Here's another one of my favorite free wine tools: The Wine Spectator "Name that Wine" game. Try to correctly identify the wine, region, and vintage simply from a tasting note. It's a fun way to test yourself on traditional traits of different wines.

I just organized a Wine Tasting Event with Levendi Estate Wines -- they're an awesome tiny producer of Napa Chardonnay and Cabernet. It will happen on Wednesday, May 2nd, from 7 - 9 p.m. We'll be tasting one Chardonnay, and four different Cab's coming from different places in the county. Tricia Record is a good friend of The Cask Room -- she supplied us with many of the wines we opened with last year. Remember the fantastic Jocelyn Cab? Or, the amazing Leal Carnaval? They were courtesy of Tricia at her previous company. But, she's moving onward and upward, taking the responsiblility for Southern California for this one small producer. She'll be hosting the event, so this will be a unique opportunity to taste & learn all about this stellar boutique winery. Plus, she's got some kind of degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Vineyard Science, so she might even be able to educate us all on the finer details of growing grapes.

Well, that's it. I'm off tonight (thanks, Chris), so I need to figure out what I'm going to cook for dinner. I'm in a Pinot Noir mood, so that likely means chicken on the grill.

Catch you later!

/mike