Many casual wine drinkers I know only think of Tuscany when they think of Italian wine, but the number of different wine regions in Italy and the varying styles of wine you can get from those regions is mind blowing. While I have many “favorite” Italian wine regions, one of them that many Americans are […]
Red Wines
Becker Landgraf, Gau-Odernheim Spätburgunder
I’ve often heard people say you can’t find good, low-cost pinot noir. I beg to differ. Most pinot noir lovers I know tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) California pinot noir fans, or 2) Burgundy pinot noir fans. Now there are going to be some stylistic differences between the two, which may […]
Castillo de Monséran, Garnacha – A Tasty Bargain
Last Friday I joined an online tasting for #GarnachaDay. It’s a day when you can drink garnacha, just like any other day, except it’s called #GarnachaDay. It’s one of those special days invented by marketing/PR folks to give us a reason to talk about their wines. Seems as good as any other reason to taste […]
Antigal Uno Malbec – Old World Style
Malbec is the wine most wine drinkers in the US associate with Argentina, although malbec isn’t the only wine produced in Argentina nor is Argentina the only region to produce malbec. As you may know, malbec is one of the six grape varieties permitted in Bordeaux wines and it is the dominant grape in wines […]
Ferraton Père & Fils, Côtes du Rhône, Samorëns Rouge
One of my “go to” regions for great value (i.e., good quality at a reasonable price) is southern France — and more specifically Côtes du Rhône. I’m sure part of this has to do with my taste preferences, but I’ve also found that more often than not I can find good wine from this region […]
Domaine Du Théron, Prestige, Malbec
A lot of folks I know associate malbec with Argentina, and for good reason. The grape does well there and a lot of delicious malbec comes from Argentina. However, that’s not the only place producing malbec. It’s actually one of the six grapes allowed in Bordeaux. And in southwest France there’s a region called Cahors […]
Robert Mondavi Bourbon Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon
I’ve noticed a lot of trends in the food an beverage world over the past decade. Some of those trends I love, such as the rise in availability of artisanal products. Some of them amuse me, such as the proliferation of foodies on Instagram. And some of them annoy me, such as cable shows where people […]
Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot – Super Cheap
I’m a fan of the magnum, that’s a 1.5 liter bottle of wine. Although the magnum also frustrates me because it seems like the wines sold in bottles of this size fall primarily into two camps: 1) super cheap & not so great, and 2) premium. What I have a hard time finding in the […]
Undone Pinot Noir – Done Well
As my palate and I mature, I find myself less interested in the big & bold wines and fine myself drawn toward medium-bodied wines — wines that have more nuance and tend to be more food-friendly. And in talking with other wine drinkers I’ve found that I’m not alone. I’ve noticed younger wine drinkers in their […]
Trivento Reserve Malbec – Black Cherry ‘Splosion
When I was a kid, my mom used to make this Jello dish that had black cherries suspended in the Jello. It was a big thing back in the 1970’s to suspend things in gelatin. But this is one I remember in particular, because I kind of liked it. And it had a very distinguishable smell […]