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April 2 2007
As far as winery names go, I don’t think you can get much better than Sokol Blosser. It’s the kind of name that immediately sticks in your head, like a commercial jingle, only better. And their wines are pretty good, too.
The Oregon winery, named after the last name of founders Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol, has been around since their first vintage in 1977—elder statesman if they were in Napa and definitely graybeards for Oregon wine country. The winery is something of an under the radar shining star who have managed to grow large with national distribution while retaining the homey charm that makes you want to put money in their coffers; old friends who have made good.
As one of the pioneers of the Oregon wine industry, Susan Sokol Blosser wrote a memoir and narrative of the Oregon wine industry and her role in the development of both her winery and the industry. Published last August, it’s a breezy romp through 30 years of wine history and definitely recommended for light airplane reading.
And, if that’s not enough to get you interested then their blog will—as a winery that started blogging in December of 2004, they were positively antediluvian in foresight in getting ahead of the winery blog curve. And, they keep it current, fresh and lively—clearly one of the best winery blogs, period. If you want to see foresight in action, see this post and pointer to an article on Appellation America that Susan pointed to on February 28th –a week before Eric Asimov weighed in (here and here) on his blog making for a blog-comment-spectacle akin to a good debate on CSPAN.
That said, I like to occasionally do a check-in on wineries that sell online and Sokol Blosser is one winery happy to get you some vino wherever you may live.
Ironically enough (insert throat clearing), I bought a bottle of their second label red, Meditrina and their second label white, Evolution, at two different stores in Indianapolis and I didn’t buy them online. Ahem, we’ll look around that for now.
I had occasion to drink both of their second labels on Saturday night. I brought the wines over to a friend’s house and a gathering of friends—all beer drinkers. It’s good for me because I at least know I’ll get my fill of wine uninterrupted. It’s kind of a dirty trick, too. “Hey, look I brought some wine. Oh, gosh, you don’t have any wine? Do you mind if I just open these?” Works every time.
Both the Meditrina and Evolution are crowd-pleasers with a capital C, capital P. They share a web site, too with mirroring domains: www.meditrinawine.com and www.evolutionwine.com The Meditrinia, according to the Sokol Blosser site:
(Meditrinia) is a core of rich, lush berry from the Syrah. The Zinfandel provides spice, tannin and structure. And the Pinot Noir brings flowers, earth and elegance. It all adds up to a luscious, juicy, easy-drinking mouthful of red wine that’s both bright and vibrant yet round and soft. Every sip of the wine, Meditrina, honors the goddess of the same name. Mmmmm.
This is a surprisingly enjoyable wine, not profound or revelatory, but an imminently drinkable quaff. Though, priced at $16 online and $15 in my local market, I’d like to see this priced about $4 bucks cheaper and I’d like for them to get new labels as the non gloss finish got wrecked in transportation making every label on display marred with signs of distress from jiggle in the box. Not a big deal, but a mistake you wouldn’t expect from a brand in distribution.
The Evolution, so damn drinkable you want to put a straw in it, also sells on the web site for $16. I picked it up at Costco for $12.99. Of the two, I prefer the white. The web site says:
Every new bottling has its own subtle and fresh personality. The 9 grapes tie together perfectly, creating a smooth, layered white wine that can hold its own or stand up to just about any food pairing you dare to serve it with. It is extraordinarily food-friendly, from light salads to the hottest fusion-style cuisine. Regarding the question we’re most often asked: ‘Were you trying to do this or did your leftovers happen to work well together?’ We’ll let the success of Evolution speak for itself.
This wine has two different things going for it—it’s aged in stainless and it’s incredibly savory. And, yes, there are nine different varieties are in the mix here: Muller-Thurgau, White Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Sylvaner
To my palate, you get the chardonnay and Muscat coming through with an undercurrent of the Riesling. It’s a sweeter wine, so bone dry, herbaceous Sav. Blanc fans would turn up their nose.
Overall, it was a good experiment to drink both second labels at the same time. I recommend Sokol Blosser. Based on their long, industrious history in Oregon, their homey spirit, their pioneering leadership foray in wine blogging, and their damn drinkable wines, you would do well to buy some wine and stick it away for your next party and a need for a crowd pleasing wine—and all the better if you buy it online.
April 1 2007
News Release: April 1, 2007
Wine Blogger To Become The Ninth “Oprah Friend” and Resident Wine Guru
Good Grape Inks Landmark Deal to be the Official Wine Blogger and Online Sales Outlet for The Oprah Winfrey Show, Joining eight other “Oprah Friends” in the Resource Panel Super Group
Chicago, IL—Plucked from obscurity, Jeff, the writer and mind behind the wine blog Good Grape.com has been hand selected to become the ninth “Oprah Friend” slated for regular re-occurring appearance on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Said Winfrey’s 2nd assistant public relations coordinator for interns, Tess Tickle, “It’s true, the date of today’s press release is no coincidence, Mr. Lefevere was the 4th person we contacted, the first person to respond, and unfortunately, our seventh choice. We decided to announce on 04/01/07 in homage to the incredible fickle finger of fate nature of his selection and also because, frankly, we’re embarrassed and hoped that we’d miss the news cycle by announcing on a Sunday.”
Tickle continued, “Oprah is interested in re-balancing the power of the wine world away from the Parker’s and the Wine Spectator’s of the world and give it back to the people while maybe taking a piece of the action if she can. Lefevere seemed willing, eager almost, to go déclassé for some money.”
Expected to join the show in months that have five weeks during leap years, Lefevere is expected to provide wine advice to the millions of dedicated viewers while accepting online orders at his web site, http://www.goodgrape.com in order to capitalize on “The Oprah Effect.”
Lefevere said, “When my wife was making me watch a Tivo’ed episode of ‘Oprah’s Favorite Things’ during the holiday season I couldn’t figure out why these seemingly normal women in the audience were going goofy out of their gourd for some free truffles and books, but I said to myself, ‘Self: how can I get a piece of this action.’ ”
“The Oprah Effect” is a selling phenomenon whereby an implicit endorsement by Winfrey on her show can drive record sales for the product.
Lefevere continued, “I couldn’t figure out how to get my piece of the Oprah action until I watched ‘The Secret’ episode and then watched sales of this book go through the roof. Pshaw … the premise of the book is, essentially, the Law of Attraction which simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. From that point on, I started mentally fixating on becoming incredibly wealthy selling wine online to Oprah fans. Ha. Can you believe it? Here I am.”
Lefevere is expected to help select wines, present them on the show and then sell them off of his web site to the legion of Oprah fans that eagerly buy anything she endorses, like helpless, slavish drones desperate for excitement in between a typical Tuesday and a normal “Consumer Saturday.”
Winfrey has been hunting for a wine expert since news reports in late 2006 heralded the health benefits of wine. Health experts Bob Greene and Dr. Mehmet Oz, both teetolers, endorsed the selection of Lefevere with Greene noting, “I guess he’s better than nothing, and since I don’t drink at least his limited reach with his blog will mean he won’t be overly competitive in taking away mindshare from the rest of us. That damn Gayle King is always getting first crack at the good projects and we don’t need any more competition.”
Lefevere responded in kind with, “I love Bob Greene and his book, ‘Be True to Your School’ it’s amazing to me that he was able to go from being a dumpy middle-aged author and a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and then completely come out of nowhere to turn himself into a fitness guru. I mean, he doesn’t even look like the same guy. I hope I can make the same transformation from wine blogger to multi-channel selling empire.”
Goodgrape.com is expected to be revamped to handle the expected site traffic and sales. Gone will be the current design replaced by a softer, more feminine site designed to appeal to oaky chardonnay drinkers.
Lefevere noted, “Hell yeah I’ll redesign my site to appeal to chicks and, to be honest, I can be bought. Heck, I’m even setting up a PO BOX for payola. Anybody that wants their wine to be considered for inclusion on the show segments or the web site should first send a query letter to the PO Box with bills in small denominations and then subsequently send me two cases of the wine for sampling.”
XXX
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