In Episode 2 of The Amateur Wino, I review two budget pinot noirs from California.  I also go through the stages of tasting a wine, and talk a bit about what acidity and tannins mean to a wine. Also, see a sneak preview of our visit to the Russian River Valley and Copain Wines in Episode 3.  Wines reviewed are the 2007 Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot Noir and the 2006 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

You can see it in lo-res by clicking here or on the video below. The HD video is down but will be fixed shortly. Also, I tried adding some “Pop-Up Video”-type content – let me know what you think about it!

Episode 3:  We head to the Russian River Valley for barrel tastings and a visit at Copain Wines.  We’ll also have footage of part 1 of our chat with winemaker Wells Guthrie, who was profiled in a recent New York Times article as winemaker leading a new wave of California pinot noir.  And we’ll review one of his wines, tune in to see which one!

Episode 4:  The White Wine episode.  Whites only in this one – a cremant de bourgogne, an excellent budget-friendly riesling, and a tasty Meursault-a-like.  Plus tips on shopping for wine online.

Episode 5:  Cabernet Showdown.  We’ll profile my two top-secret picks for QPR California cabs, then look at the ‘other’ cabernet, cabernet franc.  Our reviews will include Bernard Baudry 2006 Chinon Les Granges, a cab franc from the Loire Valley of France.

Episode 6:  Part 2 of our talk with Wells Guthrie of Copain, and a review of one of his syrahs.  And, tips on building a wine collection.

You can now follow us on Twitter here. Recent tweets include entries about our recent barrel tastings at Siduri and Copain in the Russian River Valley. Full video reports coming soon in a future episode!

EDIT:  Tweets now added to our page.  Come check out the actual twitter page anyway though!

The Amateur Wino is a new interactive video wine blog series for the average consumer who likes wine and would like to learn more.

Episode 1: The basics of tasting wines To watch, just click the video below or to open in a new page , use these links: Lo-res | HD

The Amateur Wino Episode 1 wine blog: basics and gadgets from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

“Wine for regular people”. Episode 1 covers the basics of wine tasting and some useful gadgets for opening wines. The first lesson in a wine video blog series that will also cover wine reviews, tasting notes, shopping for wines, how to order wine in restaurants, how to host wine tastings and all things in the world of wine. Aimed at the average consumer who likes wine and wants to learn more.

Wines and products mentioned: 2006 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast pinot noir (full review in episode 2), Screwpull corkscrew, foil cutter (about $5 at Crate and Barrel)

Episode 2: What to look for in a wine, and tasting reviews:

2006 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Stainless steel tanks at Copain Wines

2007 Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot Noir

Episode 3: Barrel tastings in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California

If you’d like to do a virtual tasting with me for Episode 2, you can buy the following wines (or similar alternatives). I’m aiming to get Episode 2 up on March 30th, and I’d love to hear your notes on the wines too in our comment section. Here are the wines (together with alternates that are widely available):

2006 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (alternates: Castle Rock pinot noir $, La Crema pinot noir $$)

2007 Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot Noir