Wine Wednesday

What am I thinking about what I've been drinking?

Williams Selyem Central Coast Pinot Noir 2003: Last I checked, this well-known California pinot house had at least five different pinot noirs all sourced from various areas of the northern California and central California coast. I've tried three of the five now and not found a dud in the bunch. My current fave (compliments of friends who are sharing the bounty of a case with me) -- the central coast, 2003.

Joseph Phelps "Pastiche": I didn't catch the year on this, but Phelps has put out a bottle of their popular Rhone-style blend every year since the late 1990s. But maybe I liked it so much because I've been loving Rhones all year and this little baby is a great example of it. (Plus, I just don't care for a lot of Napa style red blends -- to dry and strange.) For this money, this little drinker is a knockout.

Next in the Reading Line: And in a slightly related wine note, Jeff over at The Good Grape has a great Q&A with Eric Arnold, an editor at Wine Spectator, about his new book, The First Big Crush: The Down and Dirty on Making Great Wine Down Under (Scribner, 2007). Arnold spent a crazy year working at a New Zealand winery, learning the business and drinking. A lot.