This is a wine that falls in the not-exactly-cheap-but-pretty-darn-good category. It comes from Ponzi Vineyards in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Ponzi is a family-owned producer that was founded back in 1970. They have 120 acres of LIVE Certified Sustainable vineyards in Northern Willamette Valley, a cool-climate wine region—perfect for pinot noir. The winemaker at Ponzi is Luisa […]
One thing to look for in a pinot noir is one that comes from a “cool climate” region. The Los Carneros AVA in California is one such region. Carneros is north of the San Pablo Bay and includes part of both Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. The producers of this wine, Waterstone Winery, don’t own […]
Earlier this week I was invited to a #winechat to taste and discuss Casablanca Valley pinot noir. #winechat is a Twitter event every Wednesday evening, when folks interested in wine get together online to discuss a certain type of wine. There’s a specific theme each week. For the Casablanca Valley pinot noir #winechat, three media […]
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 […]
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 […]
Five years ago, when I launched this site, I wasn’t sold on Chilean pinot noir. They had produced a couple decent ones, but for the most part it was lacking. But my how things have changed. In the last 10-15 years the quality of wines coming from Chile has increased significantly and while pinot noir […]
Freixenet is a pretty big name in the bubbly wine aisle as they are a pretty reliable brand for tasty-yet-affordable sparkling wines. They are known for their cava, which in simple terms is Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional champenoise method… yes, there are more specifics to cava, but let’s keep it simple for […]
Robert Mondavi was one of the most important pioneers of Californian wine, if not the most important. He is know for his tremendous contributions to technological advancements and marketing of California wine. And it’s a shame that this the first time we’ve reviewed a wine bearing his name, although we have reviewed other wines from […]
Carmenet wines are part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio, one of the biggest producers of bargain-priced wines in the US. The appellation noted on the bottle is California, meaning the grapes could have come from any part of the state, or multiple parts. I don’t have a whole lot of story to tell about this […]
Today we have a double-header from William Cole, with two of their 2010 pinot noir releases. Both of these come from the Casablanca Valley, a superb cool-climate region in Chile. 2010 William Cole Albamar Pinot Noir This wine presents some really intiguing herbal aromatics that I would describe as “stalky”. Think dried grasses and herbs. […]
