American Wine Blog Awards, Vintage 2009

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

It’s that time of year again…the time of year when d547 doesn’t win any American Wine Blog Awards (let alone get nominated)!

Hopefully I’ll have a nice new Budokun logo for all of us rejects at some point soon (or you can download last year’s here). In the meantime, go nominate your favorite worthy blogs over at Fermentation.

And thanks to Tom for continuing to host, despite the blowback he’s received in the past from those of us whose feathers have been ruffled and egos have been bruised. Hopefully I haven’t been too hard on him.

Budo gone wild: sales take a dive at domaine547 as Budo-Kun tarnishes image of otherwise wholesome wine retailer

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Our little guy has gone berserk. Maybe the public should have seen the signs more clearly, arriving late to engagements, bleary-eyed, half-empty? Perhaps it was his disagreement with Tom Wark’s AWBA that sent him over the edge.

Whatever the case, Budo-kun has spiraled out of control in a dramatic fashion worthy of Britney Spears. In fact, the Cobra Snake is credited with taking this photograph of Budo and on-again/off-again sweetheart Britney Spears at last night’s Alcatraz rager.

budobritney.jpg

Sadly, sales at domaine547, the online retailer with whom Budo-kun has been associated with as “mascot” for the past year, have recently plummeted in response to the bottle’s (aka Mr. Grape) bad-boy behavior.

The burgeoning wine e-tailer (whose blog you are currently reading) has issued a press-release stating the following:

“We know Budo has a good heart, and we will do everything to get Budo the help that he needs. In the meantime, we ask for your respect during this difficult time. We pray for Budo’s safe return to domaine547, where we will welcome him back with open arms.”

domaine547 also suggested the possibility that Budo could be innocent, but the target of bitter e-commerce rivals to frame the beloved bottle mascot, in a similar fashion to Wine.com’s sting operations on interstate shipping last year. That move proved a PR nightmare for its instigator, and should Budo be cleared of wrong-doing, the same fate could await whoever may be defaming Budo, a once respected receptacle.

Whatever the case, in order to assuage customers who have cried foul at the e-tailer mascot’s supposed fall from grace, domaine547.com will be offering free shipping on orders of $150 or more throughout the week. Additionally, the e-tailer has pledged that revenue from such sales will help defray the costs of putting Budo-Kun up at famed rehabilitation center Promises, in Malibu, California, should the rumors prove true.

And for the rest of us…Budo-Kun’s Wine Blog Awards

Friday, March 21st, 2008

budokunwbbl.jpgSo Budo-Kun would love for you to download this badge and put it on your site, because not all of us can get an American Wine Blog Award, but we can all get a Budo-Kun seal of approval.
We said we’d have some biting commentary on the awards, but that conversation has already been started by Tim over at Winecast, so go there to discuss the ins and outs of awards.

We’d be honored if you wanted Budo’s seal of approval on your site. In fact, he’d be honored to be there. He’s been waiting for his close-up and this could be it. He’s also been waiting to break out into 3-D plushie form, but for now he’s just going to have to be patient with his cartoon 2-D self.

Plus, Gary V. can’t be the only one with badges all over the blogosphere? Can he? Well, maybe he can…

Click here to download the image you see to the left, and insert accordingly onto your blog. We’re all winners, right?!

get your wine on

2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California

Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, light, delicious quaffing wine.$18 a bottle

2006 Telegramme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge

Really balanced and smooth, this is a bargain of a Chateauneuf. Yeah, the 07s are lauded but what would I prefer to drink? This! It’s the second label of Vieux Telegraphe, from the same property but from younger vines. And it’s a deal at $33 a bottle.2006 or bust!

NV Barcino Cava: LA Times Wine of the Week!

Delicious and just in time for New Year’s Eve…this is the LA Times Wine of the Week, and we have plenty in stock. Order online, pick-up in-store!$14 a bottle!

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freshly pressed

3/8/10: First domaineLA Wine Tasting at Susan Feniger’s Street: 5 Wines, $15:

Just a quick note to let you know that a week from today, on Monday, March 8th, 2010, I’ll be hosting the first domaineLA wine tasting event at Susan Feniger’s Street, with the Manincor winery of Italy. The importer and winemaker will both be present to chat about the five wines being poured (including an unusual and delicious dry moscato), and the wines will be paired with light bites.

The best news is that the event will cost just $15 a person…a bargain! Swing by between 6PM and 8PM — I hope to see lots of you there!

Susan Feniger’s Street, 742 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Oh, and you can buy tickets in advance, online by clicking here:
Buy Tickets

wine jargon

Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.


Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.


Frizzante


March 29th, 2008

Scorekage


March 23rd, 2008

Rioja


March 3rd, 2008

grapewise

DomaineLA Store Contact Info
If you’re looking for our brick and mortar shop, here’s where it can be found:

6801 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 932-0280

Hours are 11AM to 8PM, Monday through Saturday and noon to 5PM on Sundays.

Read more…

Fabulous & Frugal!
Our friends launched a new site and domaine547 is a featured wine columnist in their premiere edition! Go check out Fabulous & Frugal for some fantastic lifestyle tips for living the good life during what, for most of us, is an economically challenging time. There’s much more than wine there, and we’re thrilled to be a small part of the start of what will surely be a successful venture. Congrats to Brandi & Steph for their achievement!

Read more…