Best of Unfiltered 2011(1)

All eyes were on the scantily clad pin-up princesses of the Austrian wine industry and the hunky Sonoma winemaking Bachelorette suitor in 2011, but a looming international wine crime wave demanded attention as well

Five years of intensive research at the Unfiltered Institute for Concluding the Obvious has yielded some titillating patterns among the page-viewing habits of our readership: They're as predictable as Unfiltered's cheeky puns. With rare exception, you've all been furiously clicking on the items featuring the most beautiful women to cross paths with the wine world, going back as far as we've been secretly watching you surf the Web.

In 2006, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and Savanna Samson popped bottles (and eyes); in 2008, Dom Pérignon's tribute to Claudia Schiffer's breasts had hearts pounding (cheers to Dom for knowing our audience); in 2009, Jamie-Lynn Sigler took off her Little Black Dress; and last year Sheryl Crow and Courtney Cox were a popular pair of well-aged wine-loving cougars. Unfiltered's favorite swashbuckler, Johnny Depp, seems to be the exception that proves the rule, capturing the booty in 2007 by outdueling Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyra Banks.

So what were Unfiltered's readers most interested in this year? Pre-ordering the 2012 Young Female Winemakers calendar from Austria, apparently. Our most popular item of 2011 featured photos of beautiful Austrian vintners in their cellars, in their lingerie. And in appreciation of your interest, we've included even more photos below (click on the thumbnail images to view the slideshow). Unfiltered also chronicled the rise and fall and rise again of the wine world's first bonafide reality TV crossover star, Benjamin Flajnik of Sonoma's Evolve winery (known to millions of Bachelorette fans as "Ben F").

It wasn't all pretty faces in 2011, though. Summer brought a rash of wine crimes as Unfiltered temporarily became a makeshift blotter for some of the world's dumbest would-be wine thieves. Tragedy struck New Zealand, with one of the nation's worst maritime disasters in history wiping out hundreds of shore animals and close to $1 million of Sauvignon Blanc, and China's well-to-do are turning Bordeaux into their own Fort Lauderdale. So reminisce with us here on the quirky year that was 2011, and we promise to keep Unfiltered filled with high-brow irreverent social commentary coupled with plenty of Page 3 girls in 2012 (well, one or the other).

• Young, female Austrian winemakers are setting out to prove that when it comes to wine, “seductive” is not just a term reserved for the tasting notes. As of September, wine lovers, Austrophiles, calendar enthusiasts and fans of women in lingerie could purchase the 2012 Jungwinzerinnen Kalender, or "Young Female Winemakers Calendar," for $36. Created in 2004 by publisher Ellen Ledermüller-Reiner, the annual calendar is meant to promote Austrian wine and tourism as sexy and fun. Though initially the calendar featured both young men and women (the first model was Daniel Bauer, a young winemaker from Weinhof Bauer-Pöltl in Burgenland), publishers quickly discovered that young females better satisfied the largely male demographic (Unfiltered could have told them that). Shot entirely in black and white, the scantily clad calendar girls are pictured leisurely reclining in barrel rooms, striking sultry poses alongside fermentation tanks and strolling through vineyards wearing lingerie and lace-up stilettos. Vine maidens to pose for the camera in recent calendars include Marianne Falk from Weingut Falk, Christina Weber of Weingut Weber and Tanja Burda from Burda Weine. Posted July 21

• Unfiltered took a keener-than-usual interest in the finale of the Bachelorette this year, as wine country favorite Benjamin Flajnik was one of bachelorette Ashley Hebert's two remaining suitors. Flajnik, 28, is co-owner of Evolve Winery in Sonoma, and throughout the season we appreciated his efforts to introduce the other contestants to various wines and even give a few of them tasting pointers. His Evolve partner Michael Benziger shipped out a few cases of Evolve and Benziger wine for the contestants to drink while they were stuck in the mansion waiting for dates. And when another contestant, Constantine, was on a date with Hebert, he took a shot at describing the wine in his glass, crediting Flajnik for teaching him how. The potential rose recipients traveled around the world in romantic pursuits, and got to eat at some swanky restaurants. After picking out a $300 bottle of wine one night, however, Flajnik noted he was no longer handed the list when it came time to order the wine.

Sadly, when our handsome winemaking hero got down on bended knee and proposed to Hebert in the Bachelorette finale, she could only respond with a mumbled “Sorry." Flajnik told Unfiltered the day after the finale aired that he was a little bummed—“Last night I had a bottle of '09 Evolve Cab, all to myself,” he said—but he'll have no shortage of suitorettes himself. He was a fan favorite on the show (Hebert's family much preferred him to her actual choice) and being a dead ringer for tennis heartthrob Rafael Nadal never hurt anyone. He's already been rumored to be seeing another Bachelor reject, chef and young Daryl Hannah lookalike Britt Billmaier. When Hebert rejected him, the Bachelor/Bachelorette-loving blogosphere, Twitterverse and Facebook nation were abuzz with rumors that Flajnik should be the star of the next season of The Bachelor (Hebert herself got the recent gig after being rejected at the end of last season's The Bachelor.) We asked him if he'd be interested in being on the other side of the rose next season. “I don’t know," he said. "Harvest is coming.” But the very next morning, he tweeted, @BenFlajnik: “Plans to be the next #thebachelor? I don't know … lots to ponder.” So fear not, Flajnik fans, he's at least thinking about it. Update: Ben F will be back, soon! After a rumored fling with Jennifer Love Hewitt, he'll be handing out the roses on this season of the Bachelor, premiering Jan. 2 on ABC.

Bachelorette items posted June 2, Aug. 4 and Aug. 25

• The Chinese spending spree on Bordeaux real estate continues at a brisk pace, with more than a dozen châteaus either recently acquired or in the final stages of closing. On Nov. 30, movie star Zhao Wei and her real-estate magnate husband, Huang You Long, purchased the 17-acre St.-Emilion grand cru Château Monlot for around $5.4 million. According to the former owner, Bernard Rivals, the glamorous couple is passionate about wine. “They fell in love with the estate,” he said. Rivals will stay on for two years to help them learn about running a Bordeaux château. Other transactions are less transparent, but word has leaked out that the elusive tycoon behind the Haichang Group, Qu Naijie, is in the process of closing on four châteaus—Château Branda, Château de Grand Branet, Château Laurette and Château Thebot. That makes five total for the Dalian-based oil baron, real-estate developer and amusement park owner. Qu purchased Château Chenu Lafitte, located in Bourg, for $4.3 million in 2010. The current acquisitions follow the same pattern begun with earlier Chinese investments: low-key appellations, lovely historical buildings, relatively unknown labels. Luxury real-estate broker Eric Groux, who handled the Monlot deal, said his Chinese clients want castles with vineyards, preferably in Bordeaux. “They can buy a Bordeaux château for the price of a Paris apartment.” Posted Dec. 8

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