Did we get your attention?! How could anyone possibly compare Anna Nicole Smith to wine? As unbelievable as this may sound, last night, we saw a video from the TED Conference that really put this idea into perspective. The TED conference describes itself as:

TED began in 1984 as a conference devoted to the converging fields of technology, entertainment and design. Over the years, the scope has broadened. But the formula remains the same: Gather the world’s leading thinkers and doers; offer them four days of rapid-fire stimulation. The result? Unexpected connections. Extraordinary insights. Powerful inspiration.

Today, it’s not raining. This is something to celebrate, because although we need more rain, we were dying for a little moral boost. It’s been 3 weeks straight of cloudy skies, and while I appreciate what it has done for our rooftop garden and beautiful park across the street, I do miss sitting on the roof watching the sunset. Thus tonight, while the clouds are still creeping around the edges, is an evening to lounge on the roof and enjoy warm summer breezes and twinkling stars. It will be one of our first nights of the season, requiring a bottle of Alvarino paired with figs, fresh bread, smoked salmon, semi cured Manchego cheese and Boquerones, or, white anchovies.

Now many of you will immediately hear anchovy and think “Ewww, those oily, over salted, fishy tasting strips!” Now, while I also love this type of anchovy that you are thinking of, especially when wrapped around green olives on long toothpicks, this is not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to a long, white fillet that is soaked in vinegar and oil, and often eaten as is with your drink of choice. I love them! I can’t get enough. Slightly sweet with just a delicate vinegar edge to them. They are light slivers of candied sea water. At their best, they have a very firm flesh that gently gives way as you savor them on your palate. You will often see them in any local bar sitting in a shallow yellow oil, just waiting to be served. Honestly, they may not look very appetizing when placed behind a glass display, but they’re a local delicacy and worthy of an order. Commonly, they’ll be served to you in a plain …

Editor’s Note:As many of you are well aware, Robert Mondavi died last week. Robert Mondavi was fundamental in helping to promote and define what California wine is today. Having read a dozens of wine tributes dedicated to his memory, Ryan and I equally wanted to share our thoughts too, but we didn’t feel as if we had anything new to add to the conversation. We never had the opportunity to meet him in person, nor did we have a memorable experience to share about his wine other than a few nice dinners. So we thought we’d pass the torch to a man who did know him both as a winemaker and as a friend. Fernando Melo is a well-known Portuguese wine journalist for both Blue Wine Magazine and a local weekly Portuguese magazine called Publica. Last week, while we were in Portugal, we met Fernando Melo for the first time in the Alentejo. In addition to Portuguese wine politics, and hearing about Fernando becoming a wine journalist, we shared our thoughts about Robert Mondavi’s passing. And after hearing his heartfelt story, we asked him if he would like to share it with all of you. We hope you enjoy the short piece he sent us, and we look forward to introducing you to Fernando in a future interview.

I interviewed Robert Mondavi when he turned 90, in Bordeaux, and we never lost contact ever since. He was sitting with his fantastic wife Margrit next to him, hand in hand, and it only took us 15 minutes – the actual time I was given by their PR for the whole interview – to switch places. Robert told the PR officer to cancel …

Awhile back, Catavino ran a feature we called the 2 + 1 Iberian Wine Survey. The idea behind the survey was not only to get wine bloggers feedback on Spanish and Portuguese wine, but also an opportunity for readers to gain a better perspective as to what’s available outside the big peninsula.

To be honest, we had originally intended to run these surveys while we were on vacation in France, but as it currently stands, it may be a little while before Catavino can actually unplug itself from all the action flowing through our headquarters. That said, we’re going to run some of these anyway and invite all of you who still want to participate to please send us your responses. We’re interested in your feedback!

First up is Joe “1WineDude” Roberts. The way our game works is that Joe answered two of our questions about Iberian wine, and in return, he asked one of us. Hopefully we did a decent job answering him

1) What were your preconceived ideas of Spanish wine when you first started blogging, and what do you think of Spanish wine now? If you haven’t had an opportunity to try many Spanish wines, are you interested in diving in and doing some more exploring?

I had a very high opinion of Spanish wines before I started blogging (which wasn’t all that long ago, after all). Nothing has changed! Basically, once I tasted Cava and Priorat, there was no going back. I have had some absolutely killer, smokin’, lights-out wines from Spain. IMO, Spain continues to be the rising star of the wine world, with even formerly bulk-wine-type areas like Jumilla offering some kickin’ wines now.

2) Very similar to the first question, but …