WineQ has signed on the Mustang Winemaker

Great News- you can now find my wines-Coral Mustang- on Wine Q! http://www.wineq.com/browse/wineries/17
You put together your own wine club by selecting the wines that you want, very cool for those of you that like a selction of wines from several sources.

Lot's of news on the Rose' front. It is summer and it is getting hot out there so the press has turned to writing about them. It has been interesting to see how many new ones are out there now as they are becoming acceptable as a 'real' wine. By the way, I am having a great deal on my 2005 Rose' if anyone is interested- free shipping in California, and free shipping for a full case anywhere else that I can ship to, which is expanding. Something I will be working on very hard to bring the wines to as many people as possible.

Which brings me to the direct shipping laws- wow- what a mess! Not much more I can say about that........www.freethegrapes.org does have more to say- check it out.

I have been tasting through some Spanish Tempranillo that has been in my cellar collecting dust for the last year. It has given me some perspective on some regions that I was not very familiar with. Very fun- I will post some of my comments on http://catavino.net/, a great blog about Spanish wines.

Well back to making wine, Cheers to good food, good wine, and good friends- The Mustang Winemaker

Wine Competitions- good or bad

Tis the season for wine competitions- newspapers, fairs, magazines. Making the decision what is the right competition or whether to compete is difficult. And for good reason. You never know what the outcome will be. One taster loves you, the next thinks you are not worthy of mentioning. Then, if you have a varietal that is not mainstream, well, you never know what you are going to be compared to. For example, Tempranillo. The standards are from Spain and even there they are going through a major evolution- so I say standard somewhat loosely. There are not that many of us making Tempranillo yet, so these wines get lumped in as Miscellaneous Red. That can make coming up with a fair evaluation a challenge even for the most experienced of tasters. So, I am challenged- any comments, recommendations- how do you look at competitions?

Take a look at Tempranillo wineries and vineyards @ www.tapasociety.org/ - this is an organization that is growing and gaining some momentum. When I started with this group there was just a handful, now there are four. A recruitment drive is on, so I expect we will see this list grow.

I also wanted to share a couple of sites that are promoting varietals and appellations : www.avawine.com and www.appellationamerica.com - another good source for domestic Tempranillo as well as other fun varietals.

Well, it is time for a glass of wine and watch the rain- Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker