Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wine Lovers

Wine lovers . . . you and I have a fantastic opportunity coming, so mark your calendars.

Monday September 25, and Tuesday September 26, Master Sommeliers (MS) Bob Bath and Laura Williamson will be in Greenville to teach the introductory level MS course. As mentioned in this post, this class has never been offered in Greenville and only occasionally is conducted in Charleston. You'd normally have to go to New York, Washington DC, or San Francisco, etc.

That's why I wanted to be sure to highlight this opportunity. If you have any serious interest in wine, you cannot afford to miss this seminar. No, you do not have to be part of the wine or hospitality industry (nor do you need to have plans to become a sommelier!).

But if you complete this two-day course, you'll find your confidence in tasting and discussing wine will reach an all-time high. And which of us hasn't wanted to be more comfortable discussing what we're tasting? Wanted the right vocabulary to describe the bouquet we're smelling? Wanted to be comfortable choosing wines we aren't entirely familiar with?

Click this email link and I'll gladly answer questions or provide more details. But mark your calendars now!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Where in the World is Danny Baker?

Where is Danny Baker? Well, if he's not quite home yet, he's at least on the way home from almost three weeks in Australia!

Danny had the opportunity to tour Australian Wine Country, ranging from the historic Barossa Valley to the hottest new wine regions in Victoria and New South Wales.

So if you've missed Danny (and we all have!), just wait until he gets back with his great stories and fabulous wine ideas from Down Under.

Welcome home, Danny! And we can't wait to hear what wine ideas you've brought us.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Why Don't We Drink More Whites?

The lovely white wine in this photo was sitting beside our pool in Tuscany, waiting for lunch to arrive (more on Italian whites in another post).

Ignore the Pinot/Burgundy bowls. We didn't purchase every glass shape for the villa where we stayed. But in the warm dry weather, we also quickly moved toward 8-ounce thrist quenching servings of our whites. That meant the 20-ounce Pinot bowls were just fine for spill-free swirling!

But that leads to today's question: why don't we drink more whites, especially during summer in the South? Low-alcohol Italian whites are an especially refreshing way to make any meal special.

Click the "comments" link below and voice your opinion on summer whites, and why we don't drink more of them? And see you again soon with some suggested Italian whites, for those eager to try!

Friday, August 18, 2006

Greenville's Southern Exposure

A gorgeous park, a stunning footbridge across the Reedy River Falls, fabulous food, fantastic wines--and all in your hometown!

If you haven't already secured your tickets for Southern Exposure, click the underlined link and then head for the Peace Center ticket office.

And a special bonus for wine lovers (not on the Southern Exposure site) is that Bob Bath and Laura Williamson—both Master Sommeliers—will be offering the Introductory Level Master Sommelier class and exam on Monday, September 25, and Tuesday, September 26, at the Westin Poinsett Hotel. This class has never been offered in the Upstate and only occasionally in Charleston. You'd often have to go to New York, Washington, or San Francisco.

Email us for more information. We don't mean to sound like every "limited time offer." But none of us will have this opportunity again in the Upstate for a while. If you want to learn tasting and wine identification skills, the major wine regions of the world, and have a great time while doing so, register now.