Arkansas Wine Blog

Ladies and Gentlemen, we've found an Arkansas wine blog. Not one focused on the wines of Arkansas, but the musings of a wine lover in Fayetteville, way out in Northwest Arkansas. Welcome, Lousy Grapes!

On the Wine Trail in Italy

So what's going on with Texas? Just a big state or is it the future of the nation's winebloggers?

Check out Alfonso Cevola's site On the Wine Trail in Italy. Alfonso splits his time between the US and Italy, working in the wine business and writing about his experiences. I'm particularly interested in his exploration of the islands. Lord knows I'll do anything to get my hands on those rare bottles of Sardinian wine that occasionally grace our shelves here.

Also included are family stories, insights on Italian food and language, and much more.

Vinously Speaking

Check out Vinously Speaking, a wine blog written by Veronique who is from San Antonio, Texas. But she's currently studying for her Masters in Wine Business in Dijon, France. Happy to have her aboard, because the sons and daughters of our fair states have traveled the world and written many great things outside of the lands of their birth. She requested to be here, so I'm going to look forward to future posts on introducing beef brisket, salsa, and guacamole to the fine folks of Dijon. And yes, good mustard is an integral ingredient to a good BBQ rub.

Stop by and visit her site, and enjoy the vicarious experience of being a young wine fanatic in France.

Wine & King of the Hill

Though set in Texas, most Southerners I know find some way to connect with the setting and characters in Mike Judge's brilliant animated series King of the Hill. Obviously beer was the drink of choice in the show (and must have appeared at least once every episode), but wine showed up from time to time. Typically consumed by the female characters, but the guys get into it once in a while. Hank once demonstrates a bad yet common misconception about wine, referring to half a bottle of his wedding wine that he's been holding onto. An opened bottle of wine, left in a cabinet for nearly 20 years.

In this 12th season episode, Ted Wassonasong says to Kahn Souphanousinphone, "And this 97 Pinot has its own story... It's the au pair who slaps you after you chase her into the kitchen." Which would be a hilarious parody of poetic wine reviewing if I hadn't heard things exactly like that in dozens of tastings. Or occasionally written something like that myself.

Unfortunately, I think King of the Hill tends to reinforce some attitudes that stand in the way of a real American wine culture: the idea that it's a women's beverage, or only for the wealthy, or only for special occasions. But there is another show set in the South that displays wine in a better fashion... Stay tuned!

Wine for Normal People

Elizabeth Schneider writes about wine from the burgeoning Southern wineblog center of Atlanta, Georgia with Wine for Normal People, a great name for blog. Because wine isn't a beverage of the elite or effete, it's something that can and should be enjoyed by everyone.

Elizabeth posts about once a week, but when she does it's chock full of photos, maps, and detailed information. It's a scholarly but not snooty approach to the subject that I really admire.

Also, I'm going to take this opportunity to issue a challenge: Texas, Virginia, and Georgia are going strong so far in WITS. I know Florida has to have some more winebloggers, and I'm still looking for folks out there in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Readers and bloggers, send me your links!

Schiller Wine

I'm planning on doing in-depth profiles on the various Southern Winebloggers, but for now I wanted to make a quick mention of the newest listing.

Dr. Christian G.E. Schiller splits his time between Virginia and Germany and writes about Wein at Schiller Wine. Check it out for detailed tasting notes, fascinating travelogues, and a native perspective on German wines delivered in perfect English. Also check out the occasional reviews of wines produced in Virginia.

Congratulations Hardy Wallace!

Hardy Wallce, who began wineblogging at Dirty South from Atlanta, became nationally famous last year for winning the Murphy-Goode internship. He's decided to stick around the Sonoma area and will be working with the Natural Process Alliance. More details on the move in an article at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Best wishes to Hardy in this new endeavor!

Local Newspaper Online Tasting

Newspaper budgets have shrunk around the country, and wine writing seems to be disappearing from the printed page. There are some compromises that can be reached, and my local Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, holds online tastings. The food editor is the hostess, and each week she's joined by a co-host that is either a local wine expert, retailer, distributor, or humble blogger.

Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, I'll be hosting an online tasting of the Mumm Napa Brut Rosé. Ostensibly this is tied into the Super Bowl, with the idea that a great little wine like this would go well with salty/greasy foods and appetizers. However, I also understand that most guys wouldn't be caught dead bringing a pink bottle of pink wine to a Super Bowl party, so have your wife or girlfriend carry it for you.

If you're interested in joining in, you can participate or merely watch--no signup or login is required. Just check out Whining & Dining at 7 on Thursday and join the fun. We've got a pretty good group of regulars and I try to mix in trivia and history whenever possible.

Also, if any of you WITS are doing something like this in your own cities, let me know!

A Few Links to Old Posts

One thing I'd like to do is link to posts when I find them that have some connection between wine and the South. I'll be following the sites listed on the right more carefully from now on, but for now here's a few of my own older posts from my main site, Benito's Wine Reviews, that might be of interest, might be representative of the whole WITS idea.

• A visit to Chateau Aux Arc in Arkansas wine country
  
• Tasting a bunch of Tennessee wines at a festival near Nashville
  
• Benito vs. the Turducken
  
• Sauvignon Blanc and chicken pot pie
  
• Kudzu Jelly--I'm not making this up, and my photo got featured in a North Carolina lifestyle magazine

Super Bowl Wine?

Do any of you have experience taking wine to a Super Bowl party? I've done it a few times with mixed results. For an upcoming online tasting with The Commercial Appeal, I'm suggesting the NV Mumm Napa Brut Rosé as a good choice to go with salty snacks like Chex mix and popcorn.

Other suggestions, anecdotes, or disaster stories welcome in the comments.

What is WITS?

Winebloggers In The South is simply intended as a listing of winebloggers who live in the South. I'm not looking to share content, or steal posts, or anything like that. Nor is there any sort of neo-Confederate thing going on here, so no Stars 'n' Bars, OK? Also, if you're listed here but want your name removed, no problem. Some folks like their writing to be associated with a certain terroir, others not so much. It's really just a geographical listing free of mission statements, creeds, or politics.

Posting likely will be slim, though I might include festival info, changes to shipping laws, or other things of interest to this region. Right now I'm just focused on Southern wine writers (including those blogs associated with newspapers), not wineries in the region or promotional blogs for retail stores. This may change in the future, but I'm looking for winebloggers from the following states:

Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia

After some searching, I'm up to about 30 sites, but will need the other bloggers in the region to recommend their own sites. As of right now I can't find any in Arkansas, Mississippi, or Louisiana--surely there's someone out there, right?

To pick the states, I used the map of which states use the word "y'all". I dropped Oklahoma and added Kentucky to fit the region a little better.