Good Morning!

I spent my weekend watching Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball tournaments and enjoying some great wines and even a few beers. I witnessed a few upsets and many dominate teams and players. The Men’s tournament is down to the Final Four and the Women’s will be down to the Final Four tonight. I am super sad to report my Lady Vols were knocked out of the tournament last night by the Baylor Bears. (Note to self if I am ever going to play a team with a 6′ 8″ center, I better have a great 3 point shot and an outside game) But I will say it is awesome to be alive at a time where a young woman of that size and skill is playing my favorite game, she has dunked twice so far in the Tournament!

Enough of my chatter about the NCAA basketball, let’s talk about my 2nd annual March Madness of Wine. I have been pelted with emails from you telling me about wines which should be on my list, you might be right…but since I can only have on my list what I have actually tried over the past year, I can only have a “wine-off” with what I have notes on. But I have made a list of all the wines you guys have suggested and I will do my best to try them this year!

Below is my Final Four and the story behind each wine and below that is my 2012 WINNER! Enjoy!

Region 1 Big Ass Reds Region

1999 Casa Lapostolle Merlot Chile – This is the wine I enjoyed with Madame Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle on the porch of her residence in Chile. I was working as the apprentice winemaker under Andrea Leon and this bottle of wine was from her private cellar. This bottle has such a deep meaning to me because not only was this wine fantastic and complex, but the experience of that time in my life and that particular day in my life, they probably could have served me water and I would still remember every single minute and every feeling I had.

Region 2 Spectacular White Wine Region

2009 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley – This wine and winemaker have had a very serious affect on my thoughts about wine and how it should be nurtured. I love Merry Edwards, she too could serve me water and I would love it. This wine is so complex and simple at the same time. Her thoughts on how they manage their grapes, watching the areas conditions, monitoring during fermentation and aging…no detail is forgotten and this wine had an amazing impact on me. I just have to say, I hope someday to make a wine half as good as this Sauvignon Blanc. Most Sauvignon Blancs are crisp and light and they are poolside and porch guzzlers…you could do that with this wine, but it is so smooth, so balanced that you want to take your time and make an evening of this wine. A friend said this about this wine, this is not the girl you wanna hook up with, this is the girl you want to show off and let everyone know your cool enough to have her….I thought in a guys’ mind that is perfectly said…in a woman’s mind it might sound like this….this is the George Clooney of Sauvignon Blanc or white wines for that matter.

Region 3 Bubbles, Champagne, Cava and Prosecco Region

Pol Roger Brut Reserve Non-Vintage – My family and friends had so many reasons to celebrate in 2011 and we drank so many sparklings and Champagnes, Cava and Prosecco. I honestly started looking at all my tasting notes and really got excited when I saw how many of these fizzy friends I met last year! Our son turned 21, close friends got married, we hit a milestone year in our relationship just to name a few events. This summer I will hit a really big milestone birthday and I am prepared with the wine I want to serve, my fav Champagne of this year was Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV. I know you might say, what a minute, wasn’t that the champagne Wills and Kate served at their reception? YES, but they served a vintage year and they are by far more glamorous that my tribe will ever be. I tried a little over 300 different kinds of sparkling wines this past year….this by far is what I enjoyed and did not feel like I was busting the bank to impress anything but my taste buds. I LOVE this Champagne and when I turn 50, this will be flowing like a river.

Region 4 The Miscellaneous Region Reds, Whites and Pink Region

2009 Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley, Chile – I want to say, this region gets a bad rap. These wines are not after thoughts, they just did not easily fall into another category and since I only have 16 slots in each region, they fill up rather quickly and I use this region as the “Elite” individual category! I chose this wine because of the silky texture and the sublime full smoked cherry thing it did in my mouth. This wine might be the best pure drinking wine and also best food friendly wine I had all of last season. I have served this with lamb, steak, salmon, salads, vegan and dairy and it has held it’s own as the leader of flavor or the perfect complement to the food. This wine is OUTSTANDING!. I first tasted this wine on the Veranda of Veramonte in Chile on a day after I had finished harvest for Laposotlle and my family flew across the world to meet me and visit the country of Chile. The day was perfect. I was surrounded with the best people I know and love and I had just finished one of the most inspiring projects of my life. I was filled with joy, satisfaction and total connection to my personal dream, when I open this wine, I am transported to that moment and each time this Pinot Noir is the perfect accompaniment.

To put these wines into prospective for myself, here is how I wold classify them.

Wine I could drink every night with dinner would be the Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir.

Wine I would have by the pool hagging out with pals on the weekend Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine I would open for a very special celebration is the Pol Roger.

The wine that had the most significant impact on my life last year was the 1999 Merlot from Casa Lapostolle. That means I have picked my winner while sitting on the porch of the Lapostolle Residence in Chile, I had my moment with wine and the winemakers and Madame Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.

I can not wait to see what 2012-2013 season brings…I have been taking lots of notes and I hope to try over 2000 wines over the next 11 months!

Thank you for letting me share my experiences in wine with you!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi