Open Mike - The poll

Following on from the Open Mike ideas thread - this one seeks to get an idea of which topics might offer great interest for future open mikes. Please vote for as many options as you wish - and definitely let us know of other possible open mikes that may interest you.

[James Roscoe]

I would like a zinfandel open mike, although the Bandol, Mouvedre choice intrigues me. Would Monestrell be allowed?

James
Indeed Monastrell would make perfect sense to include, as well as any residual Mataro still clinging to the name in Oz.

Zinfandel seems like a very sensible topic - perhaps the US grape most likely to have easy representation in non-US wine stores as well.

regards

Ian

[James Roscoe]

James
Indeed Monastrell would make perfect sense to include, as well as any residual Mataro still clinging to the name in Oz.

Zinfandel seems like a very sensible topic - perhaps the US grape most likely to have easy representation in non-US wine stores as well.

regards

Ian

Well, I wasn't going to suggest Norton, no matter how much Robin is in love with the grape! (Cheesy smile equals dripping with sarcasm)

Mourvedre for sure, and I also think Loire Reds as "other".
Good idea Ian, look forward to the Dao OM.

There are hosts of others which i would love to do.

Loire reds for sure (perhaps split Gamay and CabFranc) and here is a further incomplete list -

Wines from SW France (excl. Bordeaux) - ideally broken down into different types, e.g. Madiran, Cahors, Jurançon, Bergerac, Gascogne, etc. (all so different!!) but availability may be a problem for most people.

Aglianico and blends (I have just drunk an intriguing one from Vulture tonight so that's why I think of it. )

Verdicchio

Sicily

Muscadet

Zinfandel (with two provisos; it was the subject of a Wine Focus quite recently and we don't have a good choice here)

BTW, IMO "Mourvèdre" should certainly include wines from the same grape whatever its regional name, e.g. Monastrell, Mataro.

Aglianico...good idea Tim, with you on that!

Muscadet....where is that from?!!!

Tim
Some interesting suggestions

I think Mourvedre and it's various AKAs are looking very good for an open mike.

Loire reds is also a great idea - an area where I have nothing in the cellar, but would like to explore. Even if I just end up watching from the sidelines, I'll be very interested.

SW France - I agree, ideally broken down due to the significant appellation difference (making the 'region' of SW France always somewhat of an arbitrary collection). Yes availability may be a problem, but open mike is not so restrictive as the monthly wine focus, so nothing stopping 2-3+ people with access to the wines getting together for an OM. Yes it will require a little more effort to co-ordinate the troops (Bob P being the star at this). It would be good if others would chime in on the regions you listed that appeal to them (or indeed others). Maybe there are Collioures fans out there!

Sicily - Yes, up for this, though we've just got 2 wines from there (Donnafugata Mille e Una Notte 1999 and a Tasca d'Almerita Cbernet Sauvignon 2002).

Aglianico - Of interest - definitely, but again one area where our cellar is bare - with just a very unready Taurasi. Happy to keep an eye out for some for a later Open Mike though

Verdicchio - Nothing in the cellar, but again of interest. I suspect there might be wider interest here and decent wrt availability

Muscadet - What a top suggestion, with some big fans here. Although I have nothing in, I would love to try the same wine as another open miker to get some insight from committed fans. This one seems like one that will garner good interest and may perhaps run and run (similar to the Malbec Open Mike)

Zinfandel - Yes, something that ought to be of wide interest, but a grape where I remain wary of the rocket fuel nature of certain zins (time to exorcise my prejudices?). If we felt that Primitivo was also game, then you and I might have much more to choose from...

Many thanks for putting these ideas in!

regards

Ian

Muscadet and/or Loire reds work for me!

As we are talking Jura, I found this....>

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0 ... mesthepour

I voted Coonawarra, becuase I can get access to these.