Good Morning!

I watched more men’s basketball last night and will do so again tonight…then tomorrow will watch the women’s NCAA tournament (Still believing my Tennessee Lady Vol’s will win). Then on Sunday will watch more and Monday will watch the Men’s finals and Tuesday watch the women’s….Yes, if you are a college BBall fan you will be right there with me and since I will be sitting mostly still, I will be drinking wine and using my highlighters to mark if I got the bracket right or wrong depending on who I picked to win the game.

Last year, I decided to create my personal March Madness of wines for 3 different reasons

1. To entertain myself (reason I do almost anything).

2. So I would take time to reflect on the wines I had tried over the year and maybe try them again.

3. If I found wines I loved, I wanted to share the brand, names and grape varietals with my friends.

I had a pretty elaborate lay out of my Wine Madness last year and the blog took over 3 weeks to unfold, putting up wine against wine and giving in great details my thoughts…well by the end of the 3 weeks, many of you said…enough, just tell us the Final Four…this year I did a more streamlined wine bracket and regions and I just want to say thanks for all the great feedback and Yes, I am aware some of these wines cost a different amount depending on where you live and some of these wines you might have to get through a broker depending on where you live….Next year, I will try to be more in tune with those issues! But Thank YOU, for reading my blog and thank you for taking the time to email me and let me know what you are thinking!

Also, I want to thank the guy who emails me constantly and questions my tastes in wine…I may not sound like it…but honestly you make me think about everything I say and write….I can only write about what I’ve tried and the wines you have suggested to me, I will find and try and report back! You make me stretch my wine mentality! Thanks!

OK, so the Final Four of March Madness looks like this:

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.

On Monday, I will share with you which wine I am picking as my Champ! I hope you have a fantastic weekend and if your not into BBall, I hope you do something you love with someone you love doing it with!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi