Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below.

VINfluence: We were THRILLED to discover that Houston Master Sommelier Drew Hendricks has launched a blog. It's called VINfluence, and Drew is using it to share some of his insights as one of the state's top wine professionals. We particularly loved his post about a recent trip to Lebanese wine country (yes, Lebanon, folks) and a post on the sole Natural wine producer here in Texas, Houston-lawyer-cum-winemaker Lewis Dickson.

Wine Thoughts: Houston-based wine professional Sandra Crittenden posted recently on one of our favorite wines, the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Paganelli 1999 by Tenuta il Poggione. Her patience in cellaring this excellent vintage of Brunello (often overlooked by American wine writers, who preferred the 2000) was rewarded with an excellent expression of Sangiovese.

J.C. Reid: Why top Houston food blogger J.C. went to Los Angeles in search of Texas BBQ has left us scratching our heads. Not only was he rewarded with some great finds, he also discovered one of our favorite wine bars in the world, Lou on Vine. Here's a recent post about his fabulous trip to the City of Angels.

Dr. Vino: Based on the east coast, Tyler Colman is the author of one of the world's most popular wine blogs, Dr. Vino. This week he offered an excellent post on this year's "wacky wine weather" in California, with a superb explanation of how flowering on the vine (or in this case, late flowering) can affect the final product.

WineBlogAwards: Voting is now open in the official Wine Blog Awards. Rightfully so, everyone is a winner when it comes to wine blog awards, but we're rooting for our favorite Greek wine blogger, Markus Stolz, whose Elloinos has made it to the final round in the "single subject" category. Discover some of the best wine blogs out there today and cast your vote here.