El Bloggo Torcido - Twisted Oak Winery

Western Mass!

We're not talking about an Americanized religious service, nor are we talking about that large rock on the left... but if you find yourself in and around Western Massachusetts, here are a few places that feature Twisted Oak:

Domaney's Liquor and Fine Wine, 66 Main St in Great Barrington, (413) 528-0024 - 2005 *%#&@! (red potty mouth) and 2006 Verdelho

Ryan and Casey Liquor Store, 55 Main St in Greenfield, (412) 772-6585 - 2005 *%#&@! (red potty mouth) and 2006 %@#$! (white potty mouth)

The Rendezvous, 78 Third St in Turners Falls, (413) 863-2866 - also 2005 *%#&@! (red potty mouth) and 2006 %@#$! (white potty mouth)

Gypsy Apple Bistro, 65 Bridge St in Shelburne Falls,     (413) 625-6345 - call for selections

More to come!

(And congrats to all of the American Wine Blog Award winners! Photo of Tom Wark and his rubber friend by El Jefe.)

April Foolery

Just a quick couple of notes on April 1st -

- If you are in New York City, you might want to check out The Wackiest Wines Anywhere. Tish will be pouring wines with wacky names (including our 2006 %@#$!), along with a night of stand-up comedy. (And be sure to check out Tish's Wine Skewer for some great laughs even if you can't attend!)

- On the other hand, if you are closer to the left coast, come join us here in Murphys for dinner at Alchemy Market and Cafe. Along with the great dining at Alchemy, we'll pouring our 2005 *%#&@! and our 2006 Verdelho for $5 a glass - no foolin'!

As I write this I am also participating in a fun audio roundtable discussion on Winecast Unfiltered. Later today you should be able to listen to the show at winecast.net.

And a thought for the day: If the Autumnal Equinox marks the start of Autumn, why doesn't the Vernal Equinox mark the start of Vern?

(And if this doesn't look like Vern in the Foothills, I don't what does!)

Hey Bud...

This would be the obligatory "bud break" post. Every winery that has a blog talks about bud break. Heck, even the wineries that don't have blogs talk about bud break. The significant thing about bud break is that the vines are now "awakening" from their winter dormancy. Most years, these buds are the beginning of the process that leads to full, juicy, flavorful clusters of grapes. But some years there is a late freeze and these buds are at risk of destruction. Therefore "bud break" begins a time of both great hope and great anxiety - the start of the season, but we have about 4-6 weeks to dodge a serious cold snap. Wish us luck.

Twisted Oak Winery, Tufa Block, head-trained Grenache, 1 meter spacing, planted in rhyolytic tuff (see? we can be wine-geeky too!)

Rhone Ranger Rap

Getting caught up on stuff... Fermento, the Harlot, and I went to pour at the Rhone Rangers tasting in San Francisco a week and a half ago. We had the usual fun pouring our seriously yummy wines for people - the Syrah and the *%#&@! seemed to be the most popular. And we had the usual fun handing out rubber chickens and stuff at the end of the event, as you can see in these pictures. But we have never had someone compose and perform a rap for us, just to get a rubber chicken! (You can find it on YouTube as the Twisted Rubber Chicken Rap, or just scroll down!)

Our next tasting event will be at Columbia State Historic Park, CA on April 20th. See you there! (And don't forget to vote for your favorite wine blogs - voting extended to March 29th!)

Itibidi Sips, going down easy!

Come one, come all!
Join me this Saturday @ Sips Bistro in Modesto. Twisted juice will be flowing from 2 to 5pm. Diane and Bill are the owners and some damn fine people!
That's Sips Bistro on N. Carpenter in beautiful Modesto!!


Remember, if you ain't Twisted, you ain't *$%@#!  That is my new slogan, use it freely but I want royalties!

OMG......Mom, I'm pregnant!

I don't know how it happened............. I just................APRIL FOOL'S!!!!!
Ok, really though, there are so many fantastic plots, tricks and pranks to pull on your unsuspecting friends and loved ones! I say ~ GO FOR IT!! If I you can scare the *%@#! out of someone close to you that may not be expecting any excitement for the day or for the week or month for that matter,  that's a well rounded day. So start planning that prank, fake that test, hell, shave the left side of your dads beard while he naps for pete's sake! Live like Bam Margera, Steve O, Johnny Knoxville or even Wee-man. Just make this April Fool's the most talked about "Holiday" of your calendar year!
While you are planning, please join us for a Twisted-ly hosted dinner at Alchemy market Wine Bar on this most cherished Holiday. If you come in a pirates costume, there will be a special treat!  Reservations are required as space is limited. Be sure and contact Alchemy for your seats. There will also be live music! We'll see you there, fools!! Peace, Love & Happiness ~ Harlot

Here are a couple pictures of these great men I mentioned earlier! Enjoy!

I am interested in hearing about these awesome deeds so do share!

Cee-Yu-Dahd in Ellay!

Had a great wine dinner at Ciudad in downtown L.A. the other night. Jill over at Domaine547 did an excellent job setting up the event with the restaurant - she has posted some pictures and story on her blog. Also attending was Jeni of Oishii Eats - she also posted a writeup of the event with pictures of all of the dishes. Please go check out both posts, they do a much better job of telling the story than I can!

A special surprise (and treat for me) was that restaurant co-owner (and Too Hot Tamale) Susan Feniger came by to cook the Lamb Paella main course. I think I managed to not act like a slobbering fan... anyway, here are a few snapshots I took at the event - enjoy!

Above: Susan cooks! Below: El Jefe, Jill, Pimp Daddy, and restaurant GM Doug.

Just a Little to the Left of Eric Asimov...

Today Tim over at Winecast points us to Guy Kawasaki's Alltop, which has recently added a wine blog collection page. Tim was especially pleased to find that his blog was not only "above the fold", but that it was listed immediately to the right of New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov's excellent blog called The Pour.

Geek that I am, I went to check it out, and was delighted to discover that El Bloggo Torcido was in fact on the same line as The Pour - but on the side opposite Winecast.

I guess that means we can say that El Bloggo Torcido is just to the left of the New York Times!

(And please remember to vote for all your favorites for the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards - voting ends March 28th!)

El Finalisto Torcido

You may have noticed the little logo to the right there regarding the American Wine Blog Awards... yes it's true, our little winery blog is actually a finalist this year! To vote for El Bloggo Torcido, and all of the excellent blogs in other categories, just click on the logo (or click right here!) But do it now, the voting ends March 28th!

I had a notion to create a sort of Top Ten list of posts here to sort of recap why we "deserve" this award... But a visit back to January of 2007 put me in an instant quandary! In just one month you have the drama of Josh's Pussy and winning gold at the SF Chronicle Competition; our first Twisted After Dark; and fun in Reno and here at home. And then in February, our first Back Label Contest, a bit of wintery fun, and a $500 vibrator. March brought us several episodes of Pimp Daddy's World Tour.

In April, not much time to blog, but I did blog about why I blog. In May, the reason why I had no time becomes apparent: a new web site! And blogging from Hospice du Rhone (including the Yves, Yves, and Francois Show), and a piece on "doing" Calaveras County. June brought "Five Stars", possibly our most quoted post of the year - and Fermento posted about his first formal wine judging gig, followed by a nice riff on Viognier.

Slipping into summer, we got our first mention in the Wall Street Journal, the devaluation of the gold standard, our annual Cave Loot Extravaganza (including the Top Ten Reasons Why You May Not Be A Pirate), a *%#&@! Rant, and our first Release the Spaniard dinner.

Wrapping up the year, wine gadgets of the future, the Rubber Chicken National Forest, *%#&@! wine and turkey, "happiness is a warm lab result", and more snow!

And then 2008 surged in with two contests and more. How to decide?

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of retro! And please, "Vote Twisted!"

The Winner of Ruben's Backside is...

OK, maybe I should phrase that a little differently... The winning entry, which will become the text for the back label on the 2007 Ruben's Blend, was submitted by Rickie Miyake:

Ruben the Rubber Chicken – From His Own Beak: Life began harshly.  I languished on the shelves of a local toy store, finally being tossed into the $1.99 bargain bin, a fate I thought I’d never escape.  Then one day El Jefe, founder of Twisted Oak, plucked me from the bin and took me from being just a Two-Buck Cluck to Ambassador for the winery!

I am honored to have this wine named after me. Light yellow, medium-bodied, fruity with some nuttiness.  That’s me!  Oh, and the wine, too.

I apologize for the announcement being late - between my travel out of town this week, and the number of very strong entries, it made for a tough decision. Big thanks to everyone who entered! We wish there could be more than one winner.

(By the way, if you haven't read Rickie's excellent blog One Wine per Week, you are missing a real treat!)