Nicole had a great idea for wine club aliases. Hers is Grandmaster Barolo. Here are some other ideas (extra nerd-infused):

Vino Vader
Lord of the Rieslings
Chardonnaynay
Stray Muscat
Rioja Rajim
Alsace MY Ass
King Chianti

Today I found this site with some very cool wine region maps. Here is the link to the maps. Check it out.

As you all know, I just came back from a fantastic trip to Peru. Along the way I got to try some of the local booze including Cusqueña beer, Tacama wine, and the popular cocktail Pisco Sour.

When I got back, I looked up the Tacama winery and found that it’s in the Valley of Ica, which if I understand correctly, is right around where the recent earthquake hit hardest. Yikes. I’ve enjoyed pretty much all the South American wines I’ve tasted (my dad’s always pushing the Concha Y Toro ever since a skiing trip to Chile), and Tacama was no exception. They can be a little, I dunno, acidic? Sort of a strong, bitter aftertaste.

Pisco was totally new to me, a clear booze that I guess is something like vodka. I found a great write up about it on Wine Library’s website.

The standard Pisco Sour in Peru is the version served with frothy egg whites. Here’s a recipe:

2 oz pisco brandy
1 oz lime juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
1/2 egg white
1 dash bitters
Shake ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a champagne flute, and add the bitters as an aromatic garnish.

I wonder what the recommended wine pairings would be for some of the Peruvian dishes I enjoyed?

This doesn’t mean I’ll be posting a pic every day, just on days I feel like it. Anyway, enjoy!

More Wino Collective pics here.

There is really no interesting wine drinking to report from the weekend except that Charles Shaw and orange soda still make a decent ghetto sangria.

This is the start of something that will be either completely useless or a bit of fun.

I’m still working on the wineo database, which is getting closer to an unveiling state. I’ll let everyone know when it’s ready for mass consumption.

Dan

We don’t really know yet. We’ll see as it progresses.