Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 4: Tuesday, August 19 2008- The Wine News Show Inaugural Episode!

Still working out sound with the new microphone and did this show solo (no cameraman!), but here’s the first episode of the Monday (a day late) Wine News Show! If you have news worthy you’d like to see broadcast, please send to Michael@foodandwineblog.com.

Enjoy

Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 3- Food, wine, culture TV- Wine News Show! This first episode features Michael Mohammadi of foodandwineblog.com giving an overview of many of the top headlines in the wine world over the last week. Unedited and unscripted, the once-per-week show will take on issues from wine politics and wine region weather to new restaurants and wine gossip. Tune in to this first (rough!) episode and please come back for more! Read more

Monday Wine Headlines: Great sushi tasting and homemade blends, Foodandwineblog to go digital, Great Grapes in Annapolis this coming weekend.

Sunday July 20, 2008 - Sushi and Wine Tasting: Yesterday’s sushi and wine tasting was more of a sushi and wine “filling.” Our group of 9 overtook a portion of Yamato Sushi in Timonium (review coming soon) for 3 hours of drinking, eating and story telling. We begin as a quiet group, with edamame, seaweed salad and a bottle of Sparkling wine from the Loire. We finished as a more vocal crowd, having devoured platters of raw fish, 9 bottles of wine from the Loire Valley (some very good wines), including a few homemade blends at the end of the night (which were surprisingly good) - pics can be found here. If you missed out on this month’s tasting, no worries, I’m already planning August. Look for something the week of August 18-25, involving grilled steaks and maybe, just maybe at our house again!

HD Camcorder Has Arrived!: Filming has begun for a new feature on this website to include wine tastings, food and wine pairings, restaurant reviews, winemaker and chef interviews, and more. Guest stars will include many familiar faces, winemakers, and more. Stay tuned over the next few weeks for the first release (once I figure out how to get my computer to recognize the camera!).

Great Grapes in Annapolis: As “Shar” pointed out in our forums, this coming weekend is the “Great Grapes” festival in Annapolis, MD. Hundreds of amazing wines will be poured over the two day event and many local and national winemakers and distributors will be on hand. For more information see the Great Grapes website.

RedWineBuzz wine Survey: To help out a good friend in the wine industry, please check out and complete this survey.

More on the Brunello saga…

For the past two months some producers of Brunello di Montalcino, one of the premier wines in the world, have been investigated for blending their Brunello (100% Sangiovese-based wines) with Cabernet and Merlot. Amidst these allegations, the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has stepped in to ensure that the wines that reach our dinner tables are the real thing. Decanter Magazine is reporting that imports of Brunello into the United States may be delayed beginning June 9, 2008.

From Decanter: “Francesco Marone Cinzano, president of the trade body, the Brunello Consorzio, said… ‘Starting on 9 June, the US will block all Brunello imports unless the wine is accompanied by laboratory analysis proving that the wine is pure Sangiovese.”

I understand regulations on producers to ensure that Brunello is in fact 100% Sangiovese, but is this level of control necessary? Is it really feasible to ask this of all 200 or so producers that export wines to the US? What do you think: has it gone too far, or is this an important step in preserving the tradition and integrity of one of the worlds most amazing wines?

Image: Taken in Montalcino of an Enoteca on one of the main roads into town.