Monterey Cabernet... Heller Estate Organic Vineyards

Monterey County grows over 50 different varietals of grapes and yet it seems that most of them go unnoticed or at least uncelebrated as premium wines. While a number of people tend to think of Monterey wine tasting as one long procession of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and while that is a large portion of what is made and poured, it is far from all that can be savoured.

Now while we do really enjoy the wonderful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is made and poured in Monterey we also like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Sangiovese and Malbec as well as many other wines.With this being Cabernet month ( #Cabernet day is August 28th) we turned our attention to Monterey Cabernet and dinner time.
When thinking of Cabernet most peoples thoughts go immediately to Napa Valley or Paso Robles, but you may be surprised to find some equally good reasonably priced Cabernet and Cabernet blends right in Monterey County.

With Cabernet Day just around the corner we at WineWalkabout decided that we would sample (read drink) some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon poured in the local tasting rooms and let you know about what we chose to drink with our meals and that most importantly we really liked.

Food; Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce / A-1 basted oven roasted chicken drumsticks

Wine; Heller Estate Organic Vineyards 2012 Cachagua Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is made from 100% certified vineyards from the Cachagua region of the Carmel Valley and is comprised of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot aged in 100% neutral French oak barrels. No fining but polished filtered through 3µ filters.

The winemaker says that the 2012 growing season was marked by a relatively cool summer, as summers go in the Cachagua Valley. But the season was long with no early rains which allowed them to keep the grapes on the vine as long as they wanted. The resulting color is a deep garnet to dark cherry color with a fruit forward nose with big notes of blackberry, raspberry and a little cedar. On the palate it is bright with nice dark and some red fruit flavors that fill the mouth. The flavors of black cherry and blackberry and a little . Also look for some subtle jammy characters to show through on the mid-palate. A little sharp at first, once swirled a bit the supple and balanced tannins linger on the finish. This *** wine rates a 7 on the official scale and we would drink this for dinner a bunch. A little (12mths) time will really make this a go to organic grape wine.

The wine paired well with the BBQ, A-1 sauced oven baked chicken drumsticks but would go well with steaks and good burgers or some red sauced Italian.

Head on out to Carmel Valley and have a taste of the Heller Estate Organic Vineyards range of wines and find your new favorite tipple. Tell em we sent you.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

Monterey Cabernet... Joullian Vineyards

Monterey County grows over 50 different varietals of grapes and yet it seems that most of them go unnoticed or at least uncelebrated as premium wines. While a number of people tend to think of Monterey wine tasting as one long procession of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and while that is a large portion of what is made and poured, it is far from all that can be savoured.
Now while we do really enjoy the wonderful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is made and poured in Monterey we also like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Sangiovese and Malbec as well as many other wines.With this being Cabernet month ( #Cabernet day is August 28th) we turned our attention to Monterey Cabernet and dinner time.
When thinking of Cabernet most peoples thoughts go immediately to Napa Valley or Paso Robles, but you may be surprised to find some equally good reasonably priced Cabernet and Cabernet blends right in Monterey County.

With Cabernet Day just around the corner we at WineWalkabout decided that we would sample (read drink) some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon poured in the local tasting rooms and let you know about what we chose to drink with our meals and that most importantly we really liked.

The food; Spicy BBQ pork chops

The wine; Joullian Vineyards 25th Harvest 2010 JOULLIAN CABERNET SAUVIGNON • Carmel Valley Estate made up of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc combine in this lovely drop. !00% from their Estate Vineyards in Carmel Valley and spending twenty months in 20% new and twice used Center of France oak barrels. Bottled unfined/unfiltered and a surprisingly low 13.0% alcohol content.

This wine is quite a dark purple / garnet color with a brilliant cherry rim. With an enticing nose of anise, black cherry, Black current coffee and cola notes. It is a bit tight but a lovely black fruit hits the palate on first taste and expands to include dark cherry, plum, blackberry and sweet anise flavors that finish with nice acidity, fine to medium tannins provide a medium long finish. This Cabernet will stand the test of time we think due to its acidity and elegance. The winemaker reckons it will cellar thru 2025. With a rating of *** and a 7 we are not going to wait as this is drinking nicely now and we are always looking to the next release with excitement.

The wine’s balance and acidity will be a great match for steaks, rack of lamb, pork loin or chops, prime rib, turkey legs, and rotisserie or BBQ chicken.

Go on and head on over to Carmel Valley and get yourself a tastes of the Joullian Vineyards wines and tell em we sent you!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

Monterey Cabernet... Hahn Family Wines

Monterey County grows over 50 different varietals of grapes and yet it seems that most of them go unnoticed or at least uncelebrated as premium wines. While a number of people tend to think of Monterey wine tasting as one long procession of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and while that is a large portion of what is made and poured, it is far from all that can be savoured.
Now while we do really enjoy the wonderful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is made and poured in Monterey we also like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Sangiovese and Malbec as well as many other wines.With this being Cabernet month ( #Cabernet day is August 28th) we turned our attention to Monterey Cabernet and dinner time.

When thinking of Cabernet in California most peoples thoughts go immediately to Napa Valley or Paso Robles, but you may be surprised to find some equally good reasonably priced Cabernet and Cabernet blends right in Monterey County.

With Cabernet Day just around the corner we at WineWalkabout decided that we would sample (read drink) some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon poured in the local tasting rooms and let you know about what we chose to drink with our meals and that most importantly we really liked.

The food; Penne pasta with home made mushroom and meat sauce.
The Wine; Hahn Estate 2012 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast. This Monterey based winery sources grapes from a number of areas to make what they feel is a wine worthy of their customers and they happen to get the grapes for this Cabernet from vineyards in San Antonio Valley, Arroyo Seco and Paso Robles. This very enjoyable wine is poured and can be enjoyed in their Monterey tasting room. This **** wine rates a 6-7 on the official scale and is a great anytime Cabernet.


This is a very easy to drink Cabernet that shows great care in blending the various vineyards to produce a wine that drinks way above its price point. This Cabernet has a bright purple color with blackberries and black current with a little cedar and cassis on the nose. The texture on the palate is full and warm with solid tannins that provide a solid frame for black cherry flavors and soft spicy notes of vanilla and cloves and well integrated tannins that give a nice medium length finish.

The nice relatively full mouthfeel and fairly robust flavors were a perfect complement to the very meaty pasta sauce but would also go nicely with hearty beef and game dishes or one of our favorites, a big juicy bacon cheeseburger.

Head on over to the Hahn Estate tasting room enjoy the spectacular views from the deck, sample the wines and make sure not to miss this one.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala

Hungarian wine 2013 Muscat Ottonel – Welschriesling

We recently received this wine to taste and comment on. Once properly rested and chilled it was opened and wow, its a little fizzy. Not in the sparkling wine way but fizzy.

It has nice stone fruit flavors to go along with enough acid at the finish to make your mouth water and beg for more. This wine is called dry but has a subtle fruit sweetness to it and with the fizz makes it seem almost off dry. In fact thats were we would put it. Hey it is our impression of the wine. Now not that that is a bad thing as it is a lovely hot weather starter wine for greeting guests to your soiree or just something to have on a whim because you want something a little different and tasty. 

Here is what the folks at the Hungarian Road Show had to say about it;

Muscat Ottonel – Welschriesling
This wine has become a traditional and unique white cuvée in the Günzer Winery. It contains Muscat Ottonel and Welschriesling and is made with reductive technology. The bouquet of this fresh and harmonious greenish-yellow wine is primarily lent by the Muscat Ottonel, while the flavor and character derive from the Welschriesling. Typified by lively yet rounded acids, this refreshing and elegant dry white wine was bottled with a touch of carbon dioxide.

All in all a nice off dry yellow and orange stone fruit flavored fizzy wine thats fun and, well fun to drink. We would buy at **** and a 6 on the official scale, for those dress up bashes where something different to start is called for. A great welcome wine where usually a sparkling is poured as a welcome this would be great as a conversation starter. In a good way!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala

Monterey and Cabernet... Galante Vineyards

Monterey County grows over 50 different varietals and yet it seems that most of them go unnoticed or at least uncelebrated as premium wines. Most people tend to think of Monterey wine tasting as one long procession of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and while that is a large portion of what is made and poured it is far from all that can be savoured.

Jack Galante takes us through a tasting

While we do really enjoy the wonderful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is made and poured in Monterey we also like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Malbec as well as many other wines.With this being Cabernet month (Cabernet day is August 28th) we turned our attention to Monterey Cabernet and dinner time.
When thinking of Cabernet most peoples thoughts go immediately to Napa or even Paso Robles but you may be surprised to find some equally good reasonably priced Cabernet and Cabernet blends right in Monterey County.

With Cabernet Day just around the corner we at WineWalkabout decided that we would sample some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon poured in the local tasting rooms and let you know about what we chose to drink with our meals and that we really liked.

Food; BBQ Baby back pork ribs with Sonnies BBQ sauce
Wine; Galante Vineyards.
2011 Rancho Galante Red Wine. This is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon,19% Malbec, 19% Petite Sirah and 11% Merlot.

Lets start by saying this is a prerelease bottle and we would recommend a little air to start this one off. Once it has relaxed this wine is a cracker. This medium bodied blend has a bright garnet color with a sweet, cedar-box raspberry and red fruit nose with a hint of cinnamon. The flavor on the palate follows the nose with slightly sharp tannins (air time softens them up) that provide a lovely medium long finish. This **** wine is a 6-7 on the scale and a great go to any night of the week. This wine went great with the pork ribs and it would probably go even better with some beef ribs or steaks or about any red meat.
This is also just one of a few Cabernets that Galante Vineyards produces. One in particular we tasted that was a real attention getter was the 2009 Red Rose Hill Cabernet. Get on over to the Wine Tasting Room and Western Emporium in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea. Located off Dolores between Ocean and Seventh Ave. Galante Vineyards was Carmel's first "Wine Tasting Room." so get on over and go thru a tasting and find your favorite.
The Galante tasting room is open 1-6pm Sunday through Friday 12-6pm Saturday Phone (831) 624-3800

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala

New Tasting Rooms in Carmel by the Sea

Oh Carmel by the Sea, what an enchanting place it is. Made even more so we believe by the number of wonderful tasting rooms at which you can sample a fantastic cross section of Monterey Wines. When in the lovely town of Carmel by the Sea there is this great wine tasting package called the Carmel Wine Walk by the Sea with 12 wineries for your selection (see previous article), but wait, there are now two more joining the group.

The Alexander Smith Tasting Room and Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards and Winery. Having recently attended the grand opening of Alexander Smith and also just this last weekend the Windy Oaks Grand opening we can say that they are going to fit right in with great wines nice spaces.

The Alexander Smith tasting room is located in the Court of the Golden Bough, on Ocean between Lincoln and Monte Verde Street and is a bit hidden away in the back but be persistent and you will find yourself enjoying a lovely Riesling, Chardonnay and killer Pinot Noirs. The new (previously Paraiso) Alexander Smith Label is the families way of returning to making hand crafted small batch wines that reflect the family vineyards. They have succeeded in a big way. The wines are all very good and will gather a loyal following. You can also get a taste of these wines at their River Road Tasting room at the winery that boasts some of the best views of the Salinas Valley and the Gabilan Mountains.

This new tasting room in Carmel will become one of the top places to stop for a tipple or two with it's cool classy comfortable atmosphere and the good wines will have you returning with every visit.

One afternoon while visiting another of the Carmel Wine Walk Tasting rooms we saw a flyer announcing the newest tasting room open in Carmel. Never shying from the hard work we took off over to check em out.
The Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards and Winery tasting room in Carmel is located in Su Vecino Court, on Dolores between 5th & 6th. Also a little hard to find but well worth the effort. Head on back into the courtyard and about 40 paces in you will find them on the right just as you go under the two story building. With vineyards in the Santa Cruz mountains and grape sourcing arrangements in Monterey including the Santa Lucia Highlands they have a lovely selection of wines to taste.

Starting with a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and on to an array of lovely Pinot Noirs that show the diversity of the vineyards and terrior. They also have a great little GSM for everyday drinking.

With these two great additions to the Carmel Wine Walk by-the-Sea Wine Tasting Passport, that for $65 entitles the buyer to one $10 flight at any nine of the twelve fourteen tasting rooms who are part of this experience (a $90 value).
Just another two reasons to visit this wonderful sea side hamlet.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala

Wine, education and fun in Adelaide

For those who have been following for a while, you probably have read a story we wrote in 2012 about the National Wine Centre of  Adelaide South Australia. A year later we found ourselves drawn back to the National Wine Centre to see if the first go around was just one of those times when things just fall right, and what is just normally a regular event, turns into a great one. Well lets get that theory out of the way. This current event was just as good and then stepped up a notch. Yeah that's right, stepped it up a notch.

The Meet the Maker and Uncorked evening was with K1 and Pertaringa.

Taking charge of a diverse group from neophytes to ponces, was Shane Harris, Winemaker and Brand Ambassador.
Showcasing three vintages of Gruner Veltliner, Shane walked us through the 2011,2012 and 2013 and we experienced the evolution of the vintages as we were told of each years differences in weather, and some of the changes of approach to the picking and wine making, as each years lessons were absorbed and the new knowledge applied.

Shane then introduced us to some Pertaringa Shiaz. With a lovely 2010 Over The Top as an opener, and then the renown and revered 2010 Yeoman to finish off, it was simply fantastic. It seemed like every one there was very happy and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Shane was expert at talking through the processes and the wines in a way that all were engaged and entertained.
After the Master class it was upstairs to the open Uncorked gathering with lovely acoustic music and song as well as food and wine specials, and to my surprise, Geoff Hardy himself there to greet those who attended. Spent a while having a chat with both Shane and Geoff, and look forward to bringing you a future story of our visit to Geoff's winery.

Geoff chatting with an attendee.

These Friday evening Meet the Maker Uncorked events are held each fortnight on a Friday (yes we know the title give's the day away, but) from July through December. They are a wonderful informative wine tasting, with some of South Australia's best wineries and personal Q&A with owners or wine makers at a cost that is next to nothing. How much you ask? As of this series just $20. Worth easily three times that, and with another one coming up we will be heading back ASAP. With limited seating you will need to book, so get on the horn and go check em out. Rated a "Must Do' if you are in Adelaide and have the opportunity!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

See you at the next one... find your meet the maker event here

#WW Manzoni Syrah Monterey County

On a recent WineWalkabout Adventure to uncover some weeknight drinking wine, we came apon a lovely surprise. During this Adventure we came across this little gem of a Syrah from Manzoni Estate Vineyards. Located in the heart of Monterey Counties River Road Wine Trail this small family-owned and operated winery that produces small quantities of hand-crafted wines. The Syrah vines are grown in the 'Home Vineyard' which is planted to two Syrah clones: Estrella and Dijon 470. This is a great summer BBQ wine, or on second thoughts, for any time you would like it, and one that will be enjoyed by all who like a medium weight Syrah, with a red berry fruit, a bit of smoky meat and just the right amounts of acid and relatively rounded tannin's with a light pepper on the finish. The Syrah is a solid 6+ and ****, so buy a case as there were only 494 cases produced. So go on by Manzoni Estate Vineyards or to the Tasting room in Carmel and let em know we sent you, and tell em we say g'day! 

To happy Weeknight Wine!

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

With two tasting rooms there is no excuse, or order from the link to the right.

RIVER RD:

30981 River Rd, Soledad CA 93960
Saturday & Sunday 11am - 5pm
(831) 675-3398

CARMEL:

Paseo Courtyard w/s of San Carlos between Ocean & 7th Ave
Sunday - Thursday 11am - 6pm. Friday & Saturday 11am - 7pm.
(831) 620-6541

Wine, a social enhancement, drink it!

Wine is as unique and individual as the Terroir in which the vines grow and the grapes mature. It’s as diverse as the weather, as complex as those who make it, and as subtle as the vessels it’s matured in, and there's a special story inside each bottle. And then on top of all of that there's those with whom you drink the wine with and the circumstances you drink it in.

Wine adds a little something special to almost any social situation that we find ourselves in. We are after all, social animals, and there are not too many things better than hanging with friends or chosen family members, conversing and laughing and of course sharing some good wine, with or without food (food is our preference). Sometimes the wine itself provides the focus of the stories, whether it is the one you're sharing, or the ones you've tasted at some other time. Perhaps it’s about the one you hope to find. Maybe it was the story of that crazy adventure that brought you to that special wine that entertains. Wine does add that little extra pleasure to life!

Sometimes your new favorite wine you purchased on the last tasting trip is not as good as you remember and sometimes that ‘ok’ wine seems to have morphed into a great one. Often this is just a case of the combination of the wine and food and the company or some combination thereof, again the social / situational nature of wine. Remember the best wine you ever had? It was probably also connected some special occasion event or person that will never be quite duplicated.

People often tell us of some incredible bottle they have in their wine storage that is just waiting for the perfect important event. The sad thing is that it's growing old and melancholy and probably not stored perfectly, as they worry about what special occasion could possibly be worthy enough to warrant it being opened. There is that thought that the current occasion is not up to the standard worthy of such a great wine or that a better one may come along. With that logic what often happens with thinking like that, the wine, well, just dies a slow lonely death of solitude and abandon. When you finally open it it is not showing well and a great wine has passed.

We say—next time good friends turn up with smiles on their faces—fetch that bottle, you know the one, you purchased it with hopes of a great time sharing with friends, pour large glasses and toast—here's to loving, laughing and to living long and prospering. Here's to being in the moment and to sharing that next great bottle!

Happy Tasting Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

By the way, we are available to help consume and review good wine!

Coober Pedy Experience, Australia.

 Coober Pedy. What a strange and interesting place. While traveling to the red center we needed a place to stop along the way and Coober Pedy seemed interesting enough to be the chosen spot.

About 850 kilometers north of Adelaide South Australia on the Stuart Highway the town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. As you approach the town the landscape becomes more like a moonscape with piles of white dirt and rock all over.
The name 'Coober Pedy' comes from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means 'white man's hole'. Fairly appropriate given the dwellings of those that started this place.

Probably just as famous for the way most people live as for the opals,

the harsh summer desert temperatures mean that many residents prefer to live in caves bored into the hillsides ("dugouts"). These dugouts remain at a constant temperature, while surface buildings need a lot of air-conditioning, especially during the summer months, when temperatures often exceed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

The relative humidity rarely gets over 20% on these hot days, and the skies are usually cloud-free.

 

BFF  Trev showing off for the girls.

There are some very interesting attractions and one of those is the Old Timers Mine. We took a tour of the old mine and found it to be informative and fascinating and we were glad we don’t have to live under the conditions that the early miners did. Not sure we could handle the current conditions either!

We received a great demonstration of the boring machine and the vacuum truck from our new bff Trev (he loves the Californian, OK any girls). The Old Timer's Mine is a window through time to the days of old and is an original opal mine dating back to 1916.

Past relatives of Koala must have been here!

We stayed right next door at the Comfort Inn which proved to be fully underground and very comfortable as well as affordable. The rooms were completely underground and even with no air conditioning were cool and quiet. Walking around underground was not at all claustrophobic and the colors in the rock walls were quite beautiful.

While not on a list of must do places, it is half way between Adelaide and Alice Springs or Uluru and as such makes for the perfect 24-48 hour stop over point. Let’s put it this way. If you’re traveling by, you must stop and check it out, as it is a unique and fascinating place.
If you are in the area this a MUST DO!

 

Tell em we sent you!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala

 Driving up to Coober Pedy.

Wine Review Thummerer 2011 Cabernet Franc-Merlot

Not to long ago we had the pleasure of tasting a bunch of Hungarian wine at the Hungarian Wine Roadshow in San Francisco. As some of you know this can often lead to palate overload or thinking you like the wines more than you do because, well, the pretty girl is engaging, the expert tells a good story or the most likely culprit is after a dozen or so tastes in a friendly upbeat atmosphere you start to get a little buzzed (don't spit in front of the pretty girls, Mum says its not polite). The tasting was very nice and the representatives had voluminous amounts of information and there were some nice nibbles to for those who chose to indulge, and some truly indulged. Although we do really enjoy these tastings and as much value as they are in assessing new wines, it seems the real test is when you open a bottle at home on any given night to have with dinner. No pretense, no one to impress with your awe inspiring knowledge and tasting skills and the time to let the wine talk to you with the quiet to listen.

That being said we had arranged to get a few bottles chosen at random from the tasting list and plan to drink them at home with dinner and see how they fair. The first of these just happens to be going with our famous lamb chops (possibly an unfair expectation).

Provided information;
Cabernet Franc – Merlot – Lemberger (Blaufränkisch)
A dry, red wine grown in the Eger Wine Region.
Plantation: Guyot method of cultivation, 240 x 100 cm row and root stock width. Clay and mud soil; 5-7% slope; southern and south-western position; light basoid, brown soil. Vintage and production: early budding; dry, warm summer; early harvest.

Wine description: a friendly wine with fine tannins, matured to mellowness. Thanks to the two types of grape, spicy and fruity notes meet and are completed with discrete barrique ageing. Alcohol: 13.5%. Acidity: 4.9 g/l. Recommended at 16-18°C as an accompaniment to grilled meats or game.

Storage: Bottles should be laid flat and kept at a constant temperature in a cool, dry, well-ventilated space, away from sunlight.

This is a dry light bodied wine with a soft mouth feel and light fine tannin structure. The initial sips were a little dry dusty with a hint of cherry and some raspberry flavors and the although the tannins were quite well integrated at first they had a little sharpness. This went away after a few minutes of playing with it in the glass and once the wine was also introduced to salami, smoked Gouda and water crackers it really fell into place. Drinking with the lamb it was perhaps just a little light to be a perfect match but none the less very enjoyable and it held its own quite well.

This wine rates a 6 is **** and a wine we would share with almost anyone and most importantly,
one we would purchase.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala

The 75+ most influential wine peeps on social media

There are all sorts of ways to get ranked on some sort of top whatever lists, but we were quite surprised that after reading an article by the our social media mates the Wine Wankers we were actually on a couple of those lists of 'influencers in wine' using social media. We are in amongst some pretty good company and are are little humbled to be there. The Wine Wankers spent a fair amount of effort researching this and as far as we can tell they got it right (our numbers were correct). So congrats to them for their amazing success and we are raising a glass of something nice to celebrate our small success. Cheers to everyone on the list!
Here is an excerpt from their research.

So, here are the 75+ most influential wine entities on the net as at July 14th 2014.
Author: Conrad (of the Wine Wankers)

Over the last couple of months there have been a few “most influencial wine people on the Internet” type lists circulated.  They've all been quite good indicators of wine related influence on the net, within the scope of what qualifies to make each list of course.  I’ll briefly go over two of these…

About Klout -Klout uses various networks to measure influence including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Instagram, Bing, Google+, Tumblr, Foursquare, YouTube, Blogger, WordPress, Last.fm, Yammer and Flickr to derive a score out of 100.  Apparently a score of 63 puts you in the top 1-5% of all entities rated.  Read more about Klout here.

About Kred -Kred only measures social media influence derived from Twitter and Facebook.  It has 2 scores, one out of 1000 measuring social media influence and one out of 12 measuring outreach, ie how “social” an entity really is.  Apparently a score over 750 puts you in the top 1% and a score over 800 puts you in the top 0.1% of all entities on social media.  Read more about Kred here.

So, here are the 75+ most influential wine entities on the net as at mid July 20 (and also a link to the Wine Wankers).

	KLOUT RANKINGS					KRED RANKINGS
Rank	Wine Entity	Score			Rank	Wine Entity	Score1	Score2
1	Wine Spectator	87			1	Ken “alawine” Waggoner	951	10
2	Jancis Robinson	84			2	The Wine Wankers	920	9
3	Decanter Magazine	82			3	The Drinks Business Magazine	914	7
4	Tim Atkin	81			4	Jancis Robinson	905	7
	Jamie Goode	81			5	Rick Bakas	904	9
6	The Wine Wankers	80			6	Wine Spectator	904	5
	Reverse Wine Snob	80			7	Reverse Wine Snob	898	9
	Vinography	80			8	Randall Grahm	895	8
9	Snooth	78			9	Decanter Magazine	895	6
10	The Wine Hub	77			10	Cliff Brown	893	9
	Randall Grahm	77			11	Wine Enthusiast	890	7
12	Andre Ribeirinho	76			12	Wine Twits	889	8
13	Wine Folly	74			13	Tim Atkin	887	8
	Wine Harlots	74			14	Jamie Goode	882	8
15	Paul Mabray	72			15	Wine Harlots	870	8
	Marilena Barbera	72			16	The Wine Hub	868	8
	Fabien Lainé	72			17	1 Wine Dude	860	9
	Dusan Jelic	72			18	Palate Xposure	850	9
	Magnus Reuterdahl	72			19	Natalie MacLean	846	8
20	Ken “alawine” Waggoner	71			20	Robert Joseph	842	8
	Russ Beebe	71			21	Wine Folly	840	8
	Ilkka Sirén	71			22	Snooth	835	6
23	Sip on This Juice	70			23	Andre Ribeirinho	823	8
	Ana Sofia Oliveira	70			24	Dusan Jelic	818	8
	Emmanuel Delmas	70			25	Bruised Grape	816	9
	Vincent Pétré	70			26	Robert Parker Jnr	816	3
	Robert Joseph	70			27	Sip on This Juice	815	9
	Robert McIntosh	70			28	Will Lyons	815	8
	The Drinks Business Magazine	70			29	Robert McIntosh	814	8
30	Grape Friend	69			30	Dr Vino	814	7
	Rick Bakas	69			31	James Suckling	804	7
32	Meg Maker	67			32	Paul Mabray	802	8
	Jasmine Hirsch	67			33	Twe Sommelier	799	8
	Wine Sisterhood	67			34	Emmanuel Delmas	798	8
	Jameson Fink	67			35	Magnus Reuterdahl	796	9
	Peter Handzus	67			36	Vinography	794	6
	John Corcoran	67			37	Marilena Barbera	793	8
	Andrea Petrini	67			38	Meg Maker	792	8
39	Clayton Bahr	66			39	Russ Beebe	788	8
	Wine Twits	66			40	Oz Clarke	788	6
	Simon Woolf	66			41	Wine Sisterhood	787	8
	Elisabetta Tosi	66				Enobytes Wine	787	8
43	Wine Enthusiast	65			43	Michelle Williams	786	9
	1 Wine Dude	65			44	Jameson Fink	786	8
	Ryan Opaz	65			45	Marcy Gordon	784	8
	Wine Consumer Magazine	65			46	Alice Feiring	784	7
	Mario Scheuermann	65			47	John Corcoran	784	5
	Giampiero Nadali	65			48	The Academic Wino	783	8
49	Wine Walkabout	64			49	Vincent Pétré	782	8
	Lynton Manuel	64				Wine Compass	782	8
	Twe Sommelier	64			51	The Drunken Cyclist	779	8
	Gwendolyn Alley	64			52	Travelling Corkscrew	773	8
	Ralf Kaiser	64			53	Jason Solanki	772	8
54	Robert Parker Jnr	63			54	Andrea Gori	771	8
	The Drunken Cyclist	63			55	Grape Friend	771	7
	Travelling Corkscrew	63			56	Ryan Opaz	770	7
	The Academic Wino	63			57	Wine Searcher	769	6
	Adam Japko	63			58	Adam Japko	768	7
	Natalie MacLean	63				Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan MW	768	7
	Christian Schiller	63			60	Hudson Valley Wine Goddess	767	8
	Will Lyons	63				Ilkka Sirén	767	8
62	Wine Searcher	62				Clayton Bahr	767	8
	Dr Vino	62				Peter Handzus	767	8
	Andrea Gori	62			64	50 States of Wine	766	8
	Wisequeen Donna Jackson	62			65	Christian Schiller	763	8
66	Michelle Williams	61			66	Fabien Lainé	763	7
	Frankie Cook	61			67	Jasmine Hirsch	762	7
	Wine Compass	61			68	Wine Walkabout	758	8
	Hudson Valley Wine Goddess	61			69	Elisabetta Tosi	756	7
	50 States of Wine	61			70	Gwendolyn Alley	743	7
71	Oz Clarke	60				Frankie Cook	743	7
	Bruised Grape	60			73	Simon Woolf	742	7
	Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan MW	60			73	Wisequeen Donna Jackson	739	8
	Palate Xposure	60			74	Brett Jones	735	6
	Alice Feiring	60			75	Ralf Kaiser	733	7
	Brett Jones	60
	James Suckling	60				Mario Scheuermann	730	7
	Enobytes Wine	60				Andrea Petrini	727	6
						Giampiero Nadali	722	6
	Cliff Brown	59				Wine Consumer Magazine	642	5
	Jason Solanki	58				Ana Sofia Oliveira	632	5
	Marcy Gordon	56				Lynton Manuel	609	4

We are a little surprised and excited at the same time to be on this list. We are in some pretty cool company. So congrats to those on the list and thanks to the guys at Wine Wankers for putting it together. 

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout.net

Kiwi & Koala