Some wines stop you in mid-thought. They tend to be polarizing and are either heart-stoppingly delicious or revolting. This is a beauty.
Read MoreI’m not entirely certain, but I seem to remember that Inama’s was the first Soave Classico I tasted.
I think that any time you taste a wine for the first time, it becomes a standard bearer. As such, I feel lucky that Inama guided me to understanding Soave - the best of Soave, that is. But, that was (gulp) 15 years ago. Both Soave, Inama and I have changed. What’s happy to note is that if we all have, I still think Inama is brilliant.
Read MoreMaeli 2014 Bianco Infinito Veneto IGT: This is a highly unusual blend of Moscato and Chardonnay vinified to dryness. Harmonious yet full of contrasts, this smells of Moscato but tastes like Chardonnay. Light in body and dry from start to finish, I can only describe it as the unlikely but enticing combination of Moscato d’Asti and Premier Cru Chablis.
Read MoreAnother year, another en primeur campaign. How long this system can sustain itself? It seems every year the fuse gets shorter. What 2015 offers is a highly mixed bag. There’s something for everyone, but without careful research, everyone may not love what he or she purchases.
Read MoreWinemakers often feel the need to stretch their boundaries. While I’ve heard of a number of Sonoma Pinot Noir makers heading to Oregon for fruit, I’ve not heard similar stories about Napa-ites reaching north. Until now. It turns out that in 2012, Dennis Cakebread ushured in a new era for his wildly successful family business.
Read MoreFive generations ago, the Gonzalez Byass brandy legend awoke in the southwestern outpost of Spain’s Jerez. Today, the “everyday” Soberano is distilled in a continuous distillation system while the Lepanto brandies are carefully curated in pot stills imported from Cognac.
Read MoreCombine two well-known winemakers with a significant dose of ambition and a chunk of fine terroir, and you’ll naturally have compelling results. This is true even with Vassilis Tsaktsarlis’ and Vangelis Gerovassiliou’s unknown variety project, Biblinos Oenos, a black grape about to be registered on Greece’s “National List of Varieties.”
Read MoreI’ll never say “No” to Burgundy, especially red Burgundy. Love me some Pinot Noir! Just to offer one reason, these three wines are each strikingly different in both style and price point. Burgundy offers more diversity than most of us expect.
Read MoreLa Chablisienne 2014 Petit Chablis Pas Si Petit: This cuvée is composed of fruit from over 280 grape growers dedicated to one of France’s best cooperatives! Its laser-like acidity initially gives the wine a chiseled feel on the palate, but a swarm of fruit quickly follows to make this accessible and easy to sip.
Read MoreWhen I was offered the opportunity to taste the latest releases from Boroli, I jumped. I loved the recent story of the winery discovering a long-lost cru, La Brunella, in Piedmont’s Castiglione Falletto. While you’re waiting to get your hands on some La Brunella, check out these gems to reassure yourself it’s worth the wait!
Read MoreIn a time when 20-year-olds are either Google prodigies or career college students, it is hard to image that Pierre Taittinger began building his Champagne legacy at age 20. He wouldn’t even be legal to drink in the US today! Yet almost 84 years ago, after having served in the Champagne region during World War I, he purchased a tattered bubbly business (originally established in 1734.)
Read MoreMarchesi di Gresy 2014 Nebbiolo Langhe Martinenga: This may well have been my favorite of this tasting of Marchesi di Gresy. It is perfumed and accessible, showing all the intrigue and joy Nebbiolo can bring. This wine smells of rose petals, dried strawberries, tobacco leaf and beef jerky spices - just as Nebbiolo should by its textbook description.
Read MoreThis unusual, 100% Pinot Noir Sekt has fine and dainty bubbles. In fact, they are so fine and the wine is so vinous that I chose to sip the wine from a white wine glass rather than a flute.
Read MoreThere’s a sad misperception that Bordeaux is either utterly unaffordable or really, really bad. It’s true that most of us don’t buy much of super fancy stuff these days as their prices are, indeed, dizzyingly high. However, even in difficult vintages, Bordeaux – like the rest of the world – generally makes darn good wine today.
Read MorePinot Noir isn’t an easy grape to grow and it isn’t an easy grape to vinify either. Combine those two points with low yields and you have a wine style that tends to be pricey, wherever it hails from. Plus, Sonoma isn’t an appellation known for its bargains, whatever the grape variety may be. So, when I recently purchased a dozen Sonoma Pinot Noirs under $40, I was particularly pleased to find these three bottlings under $25.
Read MoreThe 2010 and 2012 show vibrantly rich fruit with tendancies toward the blacker end of the fruit range. The 2011 shows the most perkiness, both in its redder fruit character as well as its refreshing acidity and lower alcohol. The 2014 white is fresh and highly drinkable.
Read MoreWine folks – myself included – often look skeptically upon Bordeaux Supérieur. What’s so superior about a few extra years of vine age in a region that actually keeps its vines quite young? Sure, Supérieur wines age at least nine months before release as well, often in some sort of barrel…but, they don’t have to. At least Supérieur doesn't refer to a half percent of extra alcohol here.
Read MoreIt’s Malbec, yet, it’s not. According to Wine Grapes, it should be called Cot. Very well.
But, what is this variety anyway? Flavor-wise and structure-wise, I often describe it as “the new Merlot” to both trade and consumer folk. Indeed, it turns out that it almost is. Rather, it is a half-sibling of Merlot as they share the same mother, Magdeleine Noire des Charentes.
Read MoreI love the wines from the mountains that parallel – and hence form – Napa Valley. They bear a saline, earthy, dark-berried quality that fascinates me to no end. I now have been following Mount Vedeer Winery’s wines for at least 12 years, and not yet has one disappointed me, whatever the style of the vintage.
Read MoreMerlot isn’t a grape that particularly moves me, except when it comes from Saint-Émilion. Yes, those wines are blended with Cabernet Franc and sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon, but Merlot almost always predominates in both flavor and structure. From Saint-Émilion comes Merlot in all its svelte, not hefty, glory. That’s a style I can relish.
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