I really enjoy Twitter. There’s tons of great stuff to be gleaned, just not enough time. So I enjoyed finding, via my friend Tim McDonald, the feed of a fellow freelance wine writer who goes by the handle “Texas Wineaux.” On one screen of his postings and those of his Twitter pals, there were a slew of fun/funny images, starting with my kind of arcade game:
Many of us strive at times to wax poetic about wine. But of course the real poets do it best:
“Wine enters through the mouth,
Love, the eyes.
I raise the glass to my mouth,
I look at you,
I sigh.”
― W.B. Yeats (left)
“Fill every beaker up, my men,
pour forth the cheering wine:
There’s life and strength in every drop,
thanksgiving to the vine!”
― Albert Gorton Greene
“O, thou bright wine whose purple splendor leaps
and bubbles gaily from this golden bowl
under the lamplight, as my spirits do.”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley
“With years a richer life begins, the spirit mellow:
Ripe age gives tones to violins, wine, and good fellows.”
― John Townsend Trowbridge (left)
“For singing till his heaven fills,
’Tis love of earth that he instills,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup,
and he the wine which overflows
to lift us with him as he goes.”
― George Meredith
It would be easy to overload the syllabus at Linkin’ Memorial High this week, given how long I’ve been compiling stuff. But I’ll just stick with these:
• It’s heeeeeere: Ladies and gentlemen (and others), presenting blue wine.
• Here’s a nicely done, closer look at the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie wine project, Miraval. For what it’s worth, I find the wine to be quite worthy, if a tad spendy.
• I’m too sexy for my shirt, thanks to wine.
• Wow: They’re already harvesting grapes in Napa. Earliest ever.
• Finally, a sign of the times, any times:
Everyday: One doesn’t expect Rhone whites, especially viognier-based blends, to be clean, but the 2013 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc ($14) is all that and more. 
There’s a lot going on fruit-wise: peach, plum and tangerine, plus some tropical spice and white pepper, especially on the finish. Oh, and thanks for eschewing oak and letting all those flavors and aromas shine. Besides the difficult-to-match shrimp cocktail, this beauty is made for light cheeses and mildly spiced Mexican dishes. The gorgeous, soulful commingling voices of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell provide a fitting soundtrack.
Occasion: Call it a “Super Campanian.” The 2008 Montevetrano ($64) is a 
blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and aglianico (replacing the sangiovese used in most “Super Tuscans”). This robust red from near the town of Salerno in the Campania region is awash with purple stuff: the flowers on the nose, the fruit in the mouth and of course the wine itself in the glass. The tannins provide just the right grip all the way through the long, hearty (and hardy) finish. A complex, persistent, just intense enough but sophisticated wine. Can’t wait to try it with lamb chops, but roasted chicken with winter veggies would also rock. So would the down-home blues-tinged work of Taj Mahal.
Health matters, modern matters, size matters and a bit of pop culture dot our latest foray into the Wine Wide Web:
• Maybe because I’ve lived in three different ones, I’m a sucker for state-by-state rankings. This one about our drinking-est states is a dandy.
• Thanks to my pal the Hosemaster, I’ve discovered another very funny wine blogger, Chris Kassel. His latest post 
on lissome lasses from the movies (and, not tangentially, about a great Cava) is a swell intro. Bonus points for giving me an excuse to run a photo of Scarlett Johansson.
• All wines are not vegan. There’s a “fine” reason for that.
• Research, schmesearch: This excerpt from Mark Schatzker’s “The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor” unearths the main reason why wine drinkers are healthier.
• I’ve often wondered whether finding a good wine-label scanning act was my problem or the market’s problem. Turns out, according to Jancis Robinson’s website, it was not so much my troglodyte tendencies in such endeavors.
• Finally, a sign of the times, or at least of our life and times:
It’s no surprise that classical-music composers and musicians would have an affinity for our favorite beverage. Or that they would be articulate about it. To wit:
“A full cup of wine at the right time is worth more than all the kingdoms of this earth!” — Gustave Mahler (left)
“A waltz and a glass of wine invite an encore.” — Johann Strauss
“Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.” — Ludwig Van Beethoven
“A great wine connoisseur invited [composer Johannes Brahms, left] to dinner. ‘This is the Brahms of my cellar,’ he said to his guests, producing a dust-covered bottle and pouring some into the master s glass. Brahms looked first at the color of the wine, then sniffed its bouquet, finally took a sip, and put the glass down without saying a word. ‘Don’t you like it?’ asked the host. ‘Hmm,’ Brahms muttered. ‘Better bring your Beethoven!’ ” — Arthur Rubinstein, pianist
The other day, I sampled 11 crummy chardonnays so you won’t have to. Every day, I scroll through the InterWebs so you won’t have to. The pick of the recent litter:
• Some vintners will sell no wine before its time — underwater.
• Buried is this interesting report about a huge conference dealing with climate change/alcohol levels is a surprising factoid: Worldwide wine consumption is down since 2008.
• In the ’90s and into this century, varietals were the spice of most wine enthusiasts’ life. Now, according to some dude named Ward, not so much.
• In its ongoing battle with Amazon and Disney to see who will take over the world, Google has a cool new feature: virtual tours of California wineries.
• VinePair has a compilation of droll (or not) wine posters/memes, but that’s not going to stop me from posting this one:
Everyday: For a long time, few wines were more popular than Australian shiraz, almost entirely from the 
continent’s southeastern environs. That bubble has burst big-time, but maybe wines such as the 2011 Hazard Hill Plantagenet Western Australia Shiraz ($12) signal a renaissance from the other side of the land Down Under. This hearty beauty boasts beautiful aromatics and the biggish blue and purple fruit of its easterly peers but a good bit more acidity and structure, plus just-right grip and a wonderfully dry, briary finish. Bonus points for just 13.5-percent alcohol, which makes it compatible with grilled chicken and summer veggies as well as the usual burgers and brats. And, but of course, shrimp on the barbie — along with the stirring soulfulness of the inimitable Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
Occasion: It’s only been very recently that American pinot gris could be good enough to qualify as an “occasion” wine. 
Hastening along the process has been the discovery that Alsace’s foremost grapes could find a dandy home in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley (thanks, Navarro!). The 2014 FEL Anderson Valley Pinot Gris ($26) delivers great purity and focus, an almost sexy texture and delicious citrus and apple flavors. Not sure I’ve had a domestic pinot gris with this much depth on the finish. Ceviche or sushi are obvious matches, but any ol’ seafood or salad (or a seafood salad) will do. The lively, lyrical Kacey Musgraves’ new album makes for a spicy soundtrack.
Everyday: In midsummer our thoughts turn not only to crisp, refreshing whites but also to wines lower in alcohol, 
the better to engage in some al fresco quaffing. The 2013 Portuga Vinho Branco ($8) delivers on both counts, with lively flavor and texture and just 9.5-percent alcohol. A blend of Ferñao Pires, arinto and vital, this juicy, fruity, semi-fizzy white almost jumps in the mouth, and the just-right acidity leaves a guy yearning from more. Light seafood dishes and challenging veggies such as artichokes and broccoli are among the apt pairings. So are the spunky harmonies of the Dixie Chicks.
Occasion: It’s not often, at least for us semi-jaded sorts, to find a wine that’s truly exciting. Well, last night some fellow riesling hounds and I were simply gushing about the 2014 Paetra 
Eola-Amity Hills Riesling ($25). Not just about how tasty it was, but how challenging it was to figure out. It was an almost thrilling experience for this cork dork. The fruit flavors are many and varied, with an odd but thoroughly likable herby note, and the texture was classically edgy and persistent. Yum. This wine sang with a pear/bacon/gorgonzola appetizer and a shrimp main course; other options are near endless. The inscrutable but utterly rewarding music of Mr. Tom Waits provides a fitting soundtrack.