Archive for January, 2007

Wine Blogging Wednesday #29 (sort of)

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

We are losers. After failing to participate in the last several Wine Blogging Wednesdays, we decided – at the very last minute – to record a quick episode and join our fellow oenophiles, especially since the topic du jour is Biodynamic Wines. So, what could possibly go wrong? In short, Everything. First – Joe (I) was late in getting home from work, not showing up until around 9PM. Next – I was responsible for picking up a wine, and we had a good one picked out, an excellent selection from Benziger Family and one that complied with the rules that Jack and Joanne of Fork and Bottle had laid out. Unfortunately, although our local store has a great selection of Benziger wines, they didn’t have the Benzinger Tribute that we needed for the show. Instead, I picked up a bottle of the 2002 Benzinger Syrah, and a 2003 Benziger Merlot, and on the drive home, thought how about how we could still play the game with these excellent – although technically disqualified – wines.

After getting home, yet another distraction – the god forsaken American Idol was on TV and although we have TiVo, the show was just a train wreck and we had to watch parts. (Please pray for our souls). After setting up the recording gear, we cut through a show, mixed everything up, and low and behold, our levels were way off, and by this time, we weren’t in a position or a mood to re-record. Insert Frowney-Face here.

In short we were bummed. We have some great audio that we wanted to share with you as part of a larger show, but we couldn’t pull it together. We do have some audio of not only Bob Benzinger talking about Biodynamics, but also the reclusive, esoteric, extremely verbose, and all around great guy Randall Graham talking about Biodynamics.

Bob Benzinger on Biodynamics

Randall Graham on Biodynamics (sorry for the quality on this one!)

What we learned from our previous outings is that biodynamics is the science of the life forces, a kind of earthy, nature spirituality, recognizing the basic principals at work in nature and the cosmic rhythyms. A biodynamic farm is totally self contained by preserving and recycling all the life forces, such as manure, leaves, food scraps, thus making composting the key in biodynamic farming.

So where does that leave us? No official participation in WBW#29, no new episode of A Guy a Girl and a Bottle, and some significant time lost on our end. The non-biodynamic wine we chose was a 2002 Benziger Syrah, we figured since Benziger is Demeter certified biodynamic producer we were in the spirit of the challenge. We both enjoyed drinking this wine, it was very smooth and very drinkable at 14.5% alcohol, and not very tannic.

This leaves you, reader, without a new podcast but for your listening enjoyment we are posting the two short clips we mentioned above. Enjoy, and as Arnold says – “We’ll be back”!

Cheers!
-A Guy & a Girl

Check us out at PodShow at www.wine.podshow.com
Subscribe to our Wine Podcast at iTunes or Yahoo!

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    Bottle1 – Save 10% off any order. Everything.
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GNGNB EP37: Kaz Winery

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle Wine Podcast EP37: Kaz Winery


Play now! – [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/164/episodes/45929/wine-45929-01-16-2007.mp3]

In today’s wine podcast we visit the eclectic and eccentric KAZ winery in Kenwood, California. Kaz is the smallest winery open to the public in all of Sonoma county, and is known, at least in wine circles, for the extremely tasty ports that they produce. Kaz also loves to experiment with blends, so the wine lineup changes quite frequently. Only 2000 cases produced each year, spread out over 12 or so different styles, so you certainly won’t be finding these bottles on your friends (or your grocer’s) shelf.

Pam and I have enjoyed coming to KAZ over the last few years. If you are looking for a very formal wine experience, please pass KAZ up, cuz you are certainly in the wrong place. If you truly enjoy a wine adventure, don’t miss this winery. There is something always going on at KAZ, tour groups, picnics, and of on occasion, the random light saber battle in the tasting room. Richard Kasmier, “Kaz”, has been making wine since 1985 and the winery was bonded in 1994. Formally a professional commercial photographer, you can find many of his images adorning the labels of the wines, as well as the food items that Kaz puts together as well. Kaz’s wife Sandi hand colors all the photos, and his son Ryan, passes the time photoshopping his father into, well, interesting situations. Check out their website for a sample of the tomfoolery that goes on at this winery.

Don’t let the fun stuff distract from the wines, as while the KAZ family enjoys having fun, the wines are top-notch. Ever tasted a white port? Made from Chardonnay, it is one of the more unusual ports that is made for the Bodega Bay Port Works label under which Kaz bottles his all his ports. Very delectable, and even reminds one of cookie dough, if you can believe that. Dog friendly, and just down the street from Sugarloaf state park, bring the whole family for a true California experience. If you are coming in from out of town, and are looking for a place to stay, ask about The Little House located on the Kaz property, kinda gives you an excuse to sample all of the different varieties Kaz has to offer.


Kaz Kaz

Tasting Room is open Fri-Mon, 11am-5pm (or by appointment)
Contact info:
Kaz Vineyard & Winery
233 Adobe Canyon Rd.
Kenwood, CA 95452
Phone: (877) 833-2536
Fax: (707) 833-1244
w. http://kazwinery.com/
Google Map

SPECIAL OFFER – Tell them that you heard about the winery on a Podcast and your tasting is FREE (and you might even get a special surprise!)

The song for this episode is by Alden and the song is Snapshot, from the CD of the same name. Don’t forget, if you like this song drop the artist a line and let them know what you think and tell them you heard them on A Guy, A Girl, and a Bottle wine podcast! Buy it here:
Alden - Snapshot

We hope that you enjoyed our show, and hope that you listened as we are giving away a signed bottle of their Red Port! You have to listen to the show to find out how to enter the contest, of course.

Let us know what you think. Simply call 408-627-7796 and let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or simply want to provide some comments. If you prefer email, you can drop us a line at guyandgirl ~AT~ gmail.com.

Cheers!
-A Guy & a Girl

Check us out at PodShow at www.wine.podshow.com
Subscribe to our Wine Podcast at iTunes or Yahoo!

Don’t forget!, here are a few codes to save you some wine money next time you have to order some domains:

    Bottle1 – Save 10% off any order. Everything.
    Bottle2 – Save an additional $5 of any order $30 or more.
    Bottle3 – Get any .COM domain name for only $6.95/yr.