VineBuzz

@RickBakas, Director of Social Media (aka #DigitalSommelier), at Saint Supéry Winery created video tasting notes for Rosé and signed his new book "Quick Bites" at a wine industry professionals community monthly soiree on June 9, 2010, in the Quent Cordair Gallery, Napa, California. This group picks a specific varietal or style of wine each month, agreeing that each member bring a bottle that they want to share with each other, and discuss their choice with a healthy measure of passion.

On this occasion, I met face-to-face with Rick for the first time, and he helped me to explore my choice, Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis 2009 (which is made of 150-year old Hondarribi Zuri (White Hondarribia) and Hondarribi Belta (Black Hondarribia).

When first we opened this bottle, Rick was quick to bury his face in the glass like a dog sniffing around for a bone. He said that he was transported back to his second grade art classroom, where an aroma of clay filled his nostrils. Don't you just love it when wine companions have a spiritual encounter? I had not yet told him that this wine grows in a soil which is predominantly clay and sand. It was then that I realized how sharp Rick's olfactories are.

By the end of the evening, those of us who were fortunate enough to taste this wine found it to be head and shoulders above the others (of which there were many fine examples). Early on, Rick tweets: "So far this is my WOTN (wine of the night). Ameztoi Rubentis from the Basque region of Spain. #rose http://yfrog.com/ml1thj " 6:46 PM Jun 9th via Twitter for iPhone. The next day, he was equally sure of this rating. It was reassuring to find a lot of folks voting for something not local.

to wit:

DanicaSattui: Tasting Ameztoi 09 Rubentis @VineBuzz very nice!! Sweet and light!! @CordairGallery 1 day ago via TweetDeck

Pictured here (left to right) are Tamara Kolbert (wine club manager for Rutherford Hill), Jerae Knutson (Director of Hospitality, Marketing, Wine Club at Bourassa Vineyards), Danica Sattui (V. Sattui Winery and Vineyards), and Jill Dever (Tasting Room Associate at Beaulieu Vineyards)