Open Mike Ideas

A couple of open mike suggestions came up recently and so I figured it might be worth gauging opinion on what open mike's might appeal to folks. I've listed the two already mentioned at the top, plus afterwards some additional thoughts. Feel free to suggest topics that would appeal to you:

- Single Vineyard Barbarescos, focused especially on the vineyards for which the Produttori del Barbaresco produce single vineyard bottlings
- Dao from Portugal
- 1998 vintage in South Australia - how is this high profile vintage shaping up?
- Puglian reds
- Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chianti (perhaps centring on chianti classico or chianti rufina)
- Washington State Syrah/Shiraz
- Lambrusco (I need to hunt some more out though)

... but mostly this thread is aimed at getting a range of ideas, so please feel free to chip in. If we do get a range of ideas, I'm tempted to put out a follow-up poll to see which ideas have greatest mileage.

regards

Ian

OPEN MIKE
For those that aren't aware of the concept, this involves forumites tasting quite similar (or even better, the same) wine and reflecting on our experiences / tasting notes. It's very much more focused than 'Wine Focus' and is a great vehicle to explore wines which are too specialised for the broader 'wine focus'. The tastings / discussion tend to go on for about a week, but sometimes (e.g. Argentinian Malbec) can develop a (long) life of their own.

Would have loved to do something on Coonawarra or the 98 Aussies - unfortunately I had too little patience and drank through whatever little I owned.

How about Mourvedre as another idea? It's one of my favourite red grapes - not that hard to find (if we're including the Monastrells from Spain and Mourvedre blends), and makes some very cool wines.

Salil
Indeed - a grape whose wines I definitely need to explore further.
regards
Ian

Home made wines.

I like the ideas of the Dao and Coonawarra.

Great post Ian. I am surprised that more forumites do not suggest interesting OMs. I just pick up on a subject being discussed on this forum and just go from there. Sure it means going out, doing some shelf research but that can be fun. Look at the Greek OM going on right now.
Smuggling in can be a problem though.

"What did you buy today?"
"Some Greek wines" (grovel).
"Why, you don`t like Greek restaurants...always too loud".
" I have fond memories of the area".
"You have fond memories of France and we still have over 150 French wines here in the cellar!!".

You just can`t win.

For those that aren't aware of the concept, this involves ...

Ian, thanks for the explanation of how OM works. I hadn't been aware of the mechanics of it before.

Matilda, the important thing to remember with an OM. There are a few "euros" and "internationals" here so like Wine Focus the subject preferably has to readily available in most areas. An OM on Malbec was an instant success, as was one of my faves, Tempranillo. I think a Bandol or say a Jura thread might not have a big response due to difficulties finding the wine?

Would have loved to do something on Coonawarra or the 98 Aussies - unfortunately I had too little patience and drank through whatever little I owned.

I got a bit of the 98 Aus stuff, I would happily swap you for some of your older German riesling if I could just work out how to get it to you safely. Happily knocking off Turkey Flat and St Hallet Blackwell at present. The Barossa reds appear to have reached their peak ignoring the big icon wines.

[David M. Bueker]

Matilda, the important thing to remember with an OM. There are a few "euros" and "internationals" here so like Wine Focus the subject preferably has to readily available in most areas. An OM on Malbec was an instant success, as was one of my faves, Tempranillo. I think a Bandol or say a Jura thread might not have a big response due to difficulties finding the wine?

From an ideal standpoint Bob is rprobably ight, but I actually think Open Mike is the vehicle for the more focused, sometimes restrictive topics. It's ok to do Sonoma Zinfandel (not that I would, but it's a thought) because those who have access/interest will participate. The beauty of Open Mike is that there really are no topic rules.

Thanks David. Busy packing for your Banff trip I guess?!! Lots of berries this year up in the hills so be prepared for some fun with bears.

No real rules for OM..nice! Next one up looks like a Dao thread, that is a tad more focused, as you say!

Matilda, the important thing to remember with an OM. There are a few "euros" and "internationals" here so like Wine Focus the subject preferably has to readily available in most areas. An OM on Malbec was an instant success, as was one of my faves, Tempranillo. I think a Bandol or say a Jura thread might not have a big response due to difficulties finding the wine?

Bob, as far as I am concerned, both Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Washington State Syrah are in the category of being so narrow that I won't participate; I've never seen any of either of them here. But that shouldn't deter anyone; I will just sit it out. These may be well be popular subjects with those in the USA for the latter and in the UK for the former where there is probably wide availability.

Pity about Bandol and Jura, though, because they are such rich subjects.

Tim, I would be interested in a Jura OM for sure. So much to learn there but as I suspect, not much to choose from in my area. One Cremant I believe!

LOL, I did a search here on liquor board website. 8 types of Scotch!

Tim
Well I do have a bottle of (Bastide Blanche?) Bandol and two old Chateau Chalons from Maire in the cellar, so Jura and Bandol aren't out of the question for me ... though perhaps we could look at varietal Mourvedre (or at least Mourvedre dominant blends) as per another suggestion. Certainly Bandol and some of the Spanish examples would provide an old world perspective to set against new world examples.

I'm hoping that by following this thread up with a poll, we might get some good feedback on what topics might suit folk. I'll let this post run for a few days yet though, before heading to the poll.

regards

Ian

No Bandol here, but if we open it to Mourvedre-based wines in general I've got some crazy old-vine Aussies that I've been wanting to open.

Also, it would be great to do a US wine open mike, as although availability (and price!) is often tough in ROW, many of us foreigners are here in part as we have at least a passing interest (as well as liking the vibe of the site).

At the mo' I have an ancient bottle of Ch Montelena & Spring Mountain (aka Falcon Crest ), plus a Washington Syrah (hence the suggestion).

Ridge seems a top candidate though, as international distribution seems fairly solid and there is an interesting range. Maybe a Ridge open mike + Ridge pretenders (i.e. other wineries that might be seen as challengers to Ridge, in a similar style). Not too difficult for me to get hold of a bottle, from past experience. I certainly enjoy reading the Ridge notes posted here.

Maybe with the provocative WSJ comments on US chardonnays, that might also make for a good topic?

regards

Ian

I have some Jura Arbois I have been keen to open for some time and a single case of Bandol 03 so I am happy with whichever direction you take.

I think there are some great suggestions here. The Mourvedre idea turns me on for sure so Salil why not go ahead and start it up?
OM Greece seems to have reached its high point so another OM thread is in order. I think someone said in the past here one can have more than one Open Mike going on at one time.

Bob
Indeed no reason to hold back on any of these if you're keen.

All
For info, we're talking about a Dao open mike for (broadly) w/e of 10th October. I've got two of them lined up so will probably stretch into the week following that.

regards

Ian

I have some Jura Arbois I have been keen to open for some time and a single case of Bandol 03 so I am happy with whichever direction you take.

Mark, there is no timetable for an Open Mike! If you want to go ahead with a subject, set it up with a corresponding TN and we will join in. The secret is to try and keep it on Page 1 so late-comers know whats up. I do this by replying to something someone says , this keeps the OM active, especially if it is not too busy. You will be surprised sometimes who pops in with a comment and a TN.

Indeed no timetable (the Dao one has an advance date as we're co-ordinating across two sites, hence a little advance plotting... err I mean planning), but Bob downplays his past efforts in gauging interest via posts & PM's. It does require a little effort to get one successfully off the ground - often enough to encourage someone to go digging in the cellar, or get some food in that might match the wine, or indeed to spark a thought when browsing a local bottle shop.

I'm hoping this thread might help with some of that legwork, by establishing where there is already upfront interest, which people can then latch onto.

FWIW, topics suggested so far (definitely seeking more)
- Dao (10/11 Oct)
- Mourvedre / Bandol
- Jura
- Coonawarra Cabernet (& Cab blends)
- 1998 South Australia vintage
- Ridge / Ridge pretenders & wannabees

but what others are people eager to taste 'in virtual company'? Very much a great chance to find an excuse to dig stuff out of the cellar, so which wines fit into this category for you?

regards

Ian

I have some Jura Arbois I have been keen to open for some time and a single case of Bandol 03 so I am happy with whichever direction you take.

Mark, there is no timetable for an Open Mike! If you want to go ahead with a subject, set it up with a corresponding TN and we will join in. The secret is to try and keep it on Page 1 so late-comers know whats up. I do this by replying to something someone says , this keeps the OM active, especially if it is not too busy. You will be surprised sometimes who pops in with a comment and a TN.

I was supposed to open the Jura tonight with a roast tarragon chicken. I had invited a friend over who imports the very excellent German riesling I have been picking up lately. Sadly I forgot my wife is running a half marathon tomorrow so I had to postpone the dinner as my friend flys back to germany on wednesday to see his suppliers. The upside is that he is also going to visit Jura so when we finally do have dinner, I am hoping he will bring back some stuff wtih him from there.

Just spotted a Cremant from Jura today, so having seen a good recco for it, will pop back and bag a bottle for Jura open mike.

Hi Ian and everyone who loves Portugal. There is an Open Mike coming up soon (this weekend!) which Ian and I are keen to promote. So take a look in your cellar or check the wine-store down the street. Should be a fun time here!

I found the pronounciation rather difficult in my youth but a pal posted this on the UK forum the other day.

The Portuguese "ão" is a nasalised diphthong, not really "dung" but something between that and "dang". The "ng" is also a more subtle sound than the English one, with no real "g" component.