BottleBlog by Bottlenotes: wine tasting notes, wine tasting event info, wine tasting trip recommendations, and more.

Around the World in 80 Sips Goes to Chicago!

Do you love wine tasting events by Bottlenotes...and wonder why we don't do more in Chicago? Now's your chance!

On Friday, June 26th, we will be hosting one of our signature Around the World in 80 Sips™ events at Chicago's illustrious Museum of Contemporary Art. Come taste literally 80+ wines from around the world. Tickets are $50 in advance, $75 at the door and available at  www.bottlenotes.com/80sips.

More, attendees can purchase raffle tickets ($10 for one, three for $25) for the chance to wine a starter wine cellar of many of the wines being poured in Friday.

Come one come all!

Around the World (Country) in 80 Sips

Picture 092
Originally uploaded by stephaniehshih

From September to November 2008, I had the great pleasure of traveling around the country, from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, New Haven, New York, and Boston, on an "Around the World in 80 Sips" book tour in honor of the publication of Bottlenotes Guide to Wine: Around the World in 80 Sips™. Events nationwide were sponsored and organized by the W Hotels & Citysearch.com.

Some events were intimate (40 people), some were madhouses (200+ attendees). No matter how big or small, it's my hope that consumers walked away with three key bits of information from each:

1. Wine tasting in a social setting, organized by lifestyle-driven brands like the W Hotels, Citysearch.com, and Bottlenotes.com, is FUN! When sponsored by great brands like these- tasting wine is also economical...thus the perfect "new hobby" for 2009.
2. Uncovering your personal tastes is a never-ending "journey;" what your preferences are is totally up to you.
3. Bottlenotes is perfectly poised to be your "guide" into the world of wine, via our events, wine clubs, wine registry, gifts, tasting notes, book...etc.

Cheers!
Alyssa J. Rapp, Founder & CEO, Bottlenotes, Inc.

Favorite Argentine Wines

Dining Out Magazine in Chicago asked me this week to comment upon "one of my favorite up and coming wine regions" for their "Ask the Expert" section of their December edition. Expert I may not be- but fleeting favorites I always do have, and this month, my favorite region is Mendoza, Argentina. (For more on Mendoza, visit the Bottlenotes Winecyclopedia.)

The red wines, namely the Malbecs (my favorites) from this region are rich, earthy, jammy and powerful, a meal in and of themselves in some cases, wonderful compliments to rich cheese, beef, and roasted vegetables in others. Malbec is most commonly known as one of the five "blender" grapes in red Bordeaux wines but has been a popular choice as a "stand alone" red grape variety in Argentina. The terroir of Mendoza enhances the expression of Malbec, which served to catapult Malbec onto the global wine map.

There is also an array of lovely white wines coming out of Argentina as well- my favorite being the floral and aromatic Torrontes.

My favorite four picks from this region today are:

1) Paul Hobbs Nativo Collection El Felino Malbec 2004

2) Mauricio Lorca Fantasia Torrontes 2005

3) Sur de Los Andes Malbec Gran Reserva Mendoza 2004

4) You can access all three of these gems in Bottlenotes' Tour of South American Gift Pack this holiday season. J