I love a good Chianti. It’s my “comfort food” wine. If you’re eating simple Italian food, particularly the Americanized versions such as pizza and pasta, you can’t go wrong with a good Chianti. But, as I’ve said before, Chianti is confusing. There are so many zone and sub-zone classifications that I don’t know how the […]
I thought it would be interesting to compare two wines from the same producer, same vintage, same grape but from different parts of California and sold at different price points. This could be filed under the “are more expensive wines better?” category. Spoiler alert: In this case the more expensive wine was quite a bit […]
Last week, a colleague at my day job started picking my brain about wine. She told me that she recently graduated to pinot noir after years of drinking nothing but Champagne and disgustingly-sweet riesling. OK, I embellished with the “disgustingly-sweet” part, but that’s basically what it sounded like she was drinking. And then she told […]
Today is Malbec World Day, which strikes me as a holiday that was manufactured by PR folks in order to generate publicity for (and consumption of) malbec. I normally scoff at such things, but what the hell… I’ll play along. This is the third year of Malbec World Day and the youth of the “holiday” […]
Boxed wines aren’t what they used to be… in a good way. The quality of the juice found in some “bag-in-a-box” wines is much better than it once was. And some boxed wines can be a great option for the wine lover on a budget. When it comes to boxed wines there are a couple […]
This wine comes in a little bit over our typical $20 limit, but I was impressed with it so I thought I’d share for those who occasionally spring a little more for their wine. This Robert Mondavi pinot noir comes from the Carneros region in California. This is a region that is just north of […]
When I was first learning about wine and first discovered Chilean wines, I thought Chile was something new on the scene. I never would have guessed that some wineries there had been operating since the 1800’s. I suppose the “new on the scene” perception was due to a combination of my lack of knowledge about […]
Although this is another Chilean wine, it has roots in Piedmont Italy. The founder, Pedro Pavone Voglino, immigrated to the Maipo Valley region of Chile from Piedmont in 1917. For many years he grew grapes to sell to other wineries until he established Viña Santa Ema with his son. They started marketing bottles of Santa Ema wine […]
I would guess that the Bronco Wine Company produces more of the bargain-priced wine brands you see on the shelves than any other producer. I could be wrong, but they have a LOT of different brands. And Grove Ridge is one of them. The story behind a wine like this isn’t going to involve a […]
Yes, it’s another merlot review. This one comes from the Rapel Valley region in Chile and it’s made with organically grown grapes. Emiliana is focused on biodynamic and organic agriculture in their vineyards, embracing a philosophy that these practices result in healthier vines—which in turn, they say, produces better wines. Farming organically doesn’t just mean […]
