ISAW Blackout Today

Letter from Stephen:

"Dear Friends,

This Tuesday December 1, ISAW will launch our 2010 initiative, the Drink Well Do Good Tour. On Tuesday December 1, people from all over the world will take part in a simple campaign called BlackOut. We're asking that on this day, you all can help us cause a stir with this celebration. Here's how:

1) We'd like to send you a file of our ISAW logo. Can you make this your Facebook image for one day? If youre a blogger of tweeter, can you post this image?

2) Can you print this logo, take a picture of you holding it, and send it back? We are going to put the images on a gallery on our website (which launches on Dec 1). The goal is to have people from cities all over the world send us images of them holding the ISAW graphic. The gallery will read ISAW ATL, ISAW CAPE TOWN, ISAW DC, etc...Its that simple. In the weeks ahead we will build on this campaign and have a very cool catalog of art and viral campaigns. Help us bring in the BlackOut by forwarding this to others. Thanks for your support and we look forward to sharing more about the exciting developments around the 2010 Drink Well Do Good Tour. Please email isawstephen@gmail.com for more details and your BlackOut graphic.

Drink Well, Do Good,

Stephen"

Krog Bar - post from Abbie

Wednesday night, my husband and I went to Krog Bar downtown. We were headed to a business meeting, but we were early, and it just so happened that Krog Bar was nearby. It's not a large place, but it is cozy.
The first thing I saw, was a leg of pork on a stand. Proscuitto? PERFECT.
The wine list made my mouth water.
The olives were outstanding.
The cheese was to die for.
Krog Bar ... Menu
you gotta check it out.
-
I had the Notre Malbec, and my husband had the El Gatano Malbec. Spanish Olives, and Manchego for munchies. mmm
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Even though it is on "Krog" street, there's more to the name:
"About the word "KROG" from Sweden: Krog is a little "better" than a pub or bar - krog is an old word for a restaurant that serves food as well as drinks, and would even sometimes have a band and a small dance floor."

Gamay - November 10th 2009 - Ms. Abbie

Gamay - November 10th 2009 - Ms. Abbie

Wikipedia: Gamay, a red wine. also Beaujolais
Pairings: Cornish Hen, raspberries, onions, dates, oily, fatty, or salty foods pair well with Gamay
About: Gamay, purple grape, grown in the Beaujolais or Loire valleys of France. Popular wine made from it, called "Beaujolais Nouveau" - released just before Thanksgiving Day (festive). Even if we can't get Beaujolais Nouveau in time, we can get Gamay wines now (at Total Wine or other stores). 3 levels or tiers of Beaujolais, the every day kind, then Beaujolais Villages, then the highest tier is called a Cru. There are 10 recognized Cru's of Beaujolais. We tasted 2 Cru's this time around: Brouilly and Moulin-A-Vent.

We dined on a customized flank steak flat bread from Seasons 52 (had flank steak, chipotle sauce, poblano peppers, mushrooms, onions, goat cheese, spinach, not sure what else, but it was good) , oil-cured black olives, peanut M&Ms, artisan cheese rice crackers, as our pairings for this wine club meeting.

Tasting Notes:
1) 2007 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages (12.5% alcohol) - $9.99 at BJ's Wholesale
Ruby/brick color, medium depth, clear-ish, low scent, low tannins, long finish
Bouquet: No scent, clean
Notes: tart, almost carbonated feel on the tongue, light, yet subtly lingers, dry-ish
Mina tastes blackberry, Jennifer tastes Boysenberry, Mina says there is a bitter note at the end

2) 2007 Moulin-A-Vent Georges DuBoef Domaine des Rosiers (13% alcohol) - $15.99 Old Milton Pkg
bouquet-soft, mustiness,
notes: tart, lingers, mulled fruit sauce taste, fuller body, dry, more mature wine
darker color, Matt tastes honey caramel, dry crisp.

3) 2008 Brouilly, Jean Claude Dubeaune, Domaine des Nazins (12.5%)- $14.99 Total Wine
no scent,
tart, fuller body than #1, sweeter/dry finish, but it fades much too fast, I feel let down.
Matt says smoked cherry, Mina says dry, less tannins,

WINNER: We had a tie. The winner was #2 (for Abbie & Jennifer), or #3 (for Matt & Mina)

Twitter's Fledgling Wine

Fledging Wine: Twitter Launches Wine Label To Benefit "Room To Read" Nonprofit

Barbera - October 14th, 2009 - Ms. Mina

Barbera - October 14th, 2009 - Ms. Mina

Wikipedia: Barbera - A red wine.
Pairings: tomato or mushroom sauces, barbeque, cheeseburger, roast beef, etc.
About: Italian wine from Piedmont region. d'Alba, d'Asti etc. Varietal is resistant to disease, has higher acidity, grows well even in warmer climates, purplish-black grape, early browning. Vanilla,smoke, toasty oak. Great as a blend, notes of red and blackberry,cherry, and sometimes oak. best if it breathes for 1-1.5 hrs.

Abbie's Tasting Notes:
1) 2008 Barbera d'Alba La Loggia - Trader Joes $7.99
acidic smell, tart yet light at the end, cherry, lighter purple/red color, a bit see-through, summery flavor

2) 2008 Barbera d'Alba Oltrepo Pavese Pozzi - Total Wine $12.99
mustier spice smell, with hint of yogurt scent. dry, more mature red grape taste, lingering dryness, cranberry flavor,
perfumey tasty (Sarah's comment)

3) 2006 Barbera d'Alba Ruvei Marchesi Di Barolo - Total Wine $16.99
alcohol, cedar, clove nose. almost tart but smoother cherry/raspberry flavor, dry, sticks to tongue, smoothness is almost like dark chocolate, Deb said bubblegum.

4) 2006 Barbera d'Alba Rocca Felice - Total Wine $14.99
"light cabernet" feel, quick nose, oaky, dried apricot. musty vanilla, leather scent. heavy vanilla taste, more complex than the others

5) same as #2, 2008 Barbera d'Alba Oltrepo Pavese Pozzi - Total Wine $12.99
clean smell (almost no nose). bright tart cherry taste, blueberry, cranberry hints. puckery, dry, pleasant FAVE.

Tempranillo - Sept. 16. 2009 - Ms. Elizabeth K.

Wine Club was postponed for September 2009 due to scheduling conflicts.
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Tempranillo - Sept. 16, 2009 - Ms. Elizabeth K.

Wikipedia: About Tempranillo, a red wine.
Pairings: Tapas, Olives, Marinated Mushrooms, dry cured ham, sheep milk cheeses, cheeses with higher salt content, Note: avoid blue cheeses. prawns, chorizo, Spanish foods, etc.
About:
cancelled

Abbie's Tasting Notes:
cancelled

ISAW is having a Pinot Party!

ISAW Foundation (which was just granted non-profit status or is now a US-based 501(c)(3) company) - is hosting a PINOT Party!

Per Stephen's email:

" Pinot Party
Finally, a related, personal, programming note. Many of you know that my affinity for wine began in the Willamette Valley, in Portland, OR. What you didn't know is one of the first wine functions I ever hosted was with a small winery called Apolloni. Almost 5 years later, Apolloni has expanded into the GA market, and my old friend and National Sales Director Laura Gordon is in Atlanta introducing these wines. On Thursday September 24th, she'll be at Buckhead Wine Storage pouring estate grown Pinot Noir for only $5!! If you know how expensive and delicious Oregon Pinot is you're all over this.
What: Apolloni Pinot Noir Tasting
When: Thursday September 24, 2009 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Buckhead Wine Storage, 3185 Maple Drive (just one block West of the corner of Peachtree X Piedmont)
Cost: $5 (BYOG- Bring your own glass) $10 All others"