Rhône Valley white wines generally are overlooked, save a few collectibles. Considering that only 6% of the region's volume of wine is white, that might not sound surprising. However, the Rhône Valley is France's second largest AOC. Still, it does turn out to be a very small amount of white wine when you run the math. Burgundy makes almost five times as much white wine in a good harvest! So, while everyone else is clamoring for hard-to-find Burgundies with much heftier price tags, shop for some of these rarer and far less pricey Rhône blancs!
Read MoreThis is a delicious wine made in a unique quasi-collaboration between Southern Oregon's Troon Vineyard and Cowhorn Vineyard, in which Cowhorn sold Troon grapes while Troon's vineyards are being replanted. It is the only wine from Troon not made with its own, estate-grown grapes. Not surprisingly, the spirit of farming is the same at Cowhorn and Troon: all of the fruit is biodynamically farmed.
Read MoreMy latest series of sturdy young white and red bottlings from Troon needed aeration like never before. If you can spare the time, two or more hours would be ideal. Where I kept the bottle overnight, the wines always were more forthcoming the second day. They are usually worth the wait.
Read MoreG*S*M 2015 Rogue Valley: This wine is noted to be an astonishingly precise 39.66% Syrah, 31.61% Mourvèdre, 16.06% Grenache and 12.67% Sangiovese! It is a pale-colored and youthful blend bursting with rose petals and spice box aromatics that eagerly show off its Grenache and Sangiovese portions.
Read MoreSince I last tasted Troon wines, in Southern Oregon in July 2013, the winemaker and winemaking approach have changed. They were pleasant before, so I was curious to see what I would fine in the wines post-makeover. I'm happy to report that this Southern Oregon pioneer continues to push boundaries in the right direction.
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