‘Tis the season of celebrations and the time of year when people are more likely to be thinking about sparkling wines than other times of year. Although I’m an advocate of celebrations anytime of year and of enjoying sparkling wine with or without a celebration. And I don’t think I’m the only one with this […]
It is holiday season and while I recommend sparkling wine any time of the year it’s a must during the holiday season. You might think that sparkling wine is a splurge, but if you know how to shop for it you can actually get some pretty darn good bubbly at prices comparable to any other […]
For bargain-hunting sparkling wine lovers, “cremant” is a good word to learn. It’s the name given to French sparkling wines that come from regions outside of Champagne. And being from outside of Champagne they typically have quite reasonable prices compared to their Champagne relatives. This Cremant D’Alsace from René Muré is made from a blend of […]
Rosé is often an under-appreciated and overlooked wine category. But if you’ve been reading Cheap Wine Ratings for long you’ve probably picked up on the fact that we love a good rosé—particularly a good, dry rosé. And today wine writers around the world are celebrating dry rosé for the return of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW). […]
How have you been fairing with all the heat we’ve had lately? It’s been miserable out there and you might say it’s not been good wine drinking weather. Well, that depends on what wine you’re talking about. Some wines just don’t hit the spot on a hot summer day. But others are just right. I […]
Moscato, or muscat, seems to be all the rage these days. I’m seeing more and more of it show up in wine shops and wine lists. And I’ve heard from some producers that demand is so high they can’t produce enough of it. There may be a direct correlation in the reduced consumption of white […]
It’s that time of year when many are reaching for a bottle of bubbly. While Champagne is the first bubbly to come to mind for most consumers, there are many better bargains to be found in sparklers from other regions. If you want a French sparkler but don’t want to pony up the cash it […]
Some folks I know are biased against Robert Mondavi wines. I assume that’s due to the fact that many of their wines are produced in bulk and can be found anywhere, in other words they are “supermarket brands.” In some cases this is an unfair accusation. Robert Mondavi actually produces a wide range of wines […]
A few weeks ago I reviewed the Reginato Sparkling Torrontés Chardonnay, which was just outstanding. So I was excited to check out another sparkler from them, the Reginato Sparkling Rosé of Malbec. Like much of the malbec you see on the shelves these days, this one is from Mendoza, Argentina. But it’s a lot lighter in […]
Typically, I work a little bit ahead on my wine reviews. I’ll photograph a wine, taste it and take my notes and then a couple weeks later it will get published to the website. But sometimes I taste a wine that I’m so excited about that I just can’t wait to get the review published. […]