Summer is quickly approaching, and that means grilling season. And grilling season means it’s time for zinfandel. While summer is a great time to try some cool, crisp white wines, if you’re looking for a wine to go with your burgers from the grill, then it’s zinfandel you should be grabbing. I’m not talking about […]
We review a lot of wines here, but surprisingly only a handful of them end up on my personal list of trusted favorites. This is one of those wines. Brazin if fairly young as a brand, although the winemaker behind it, Sue Hofmann, has plenty of experience. We first discovered it with the 2007 vintage, […]
A couple weeks ago, I did a lengthy writeup about my recent visit to Paso Robles. But I didn’t highlight any of the specific wines I tasted there. Tonight I want to touch on a few wines I tasted on that visit, from Villacana Winery. Villacana is a small winery run by a husband and […]
The May/June issue of Mutineer Magazine will be on shelves any day now, including my Wine Steals column. In this issue I do a roundup of sauvignon blanc from California and Chile, including this one from Rodney Strong. Wine is an interesting thing when it comes to brands. There are so many of them, that […]
I really want to like this wine. The overall look of the packaging is clean and simple but the blazoned red “181” on the black label is striking. I also like the choice of tapered meritage-glass for the bottle. It looks premium and very up-market. As I review the wine, I find myself taking a […]
I have often dissed sauvignon blanc from California. I’ve called it bland, boring, lifeless. I’m guilty of badmouthing the whole category based on a few underwhelming experiences. But truthfully, California can produce exceptional sauvignon blanc. And this bottle from St. Supery proves me wrong for all the bad things I’ve said about Californian sauvignon blanc […]
It’s been close to 3 years since we’ve reviewed Twisted’s 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel. It represented a great value back then at it’s $6.99 price tag, but it didn’t get our nod for top zinfandel under $20. Recently, on one of my routine trips to one of my favorite wine shops, I ran across the […]
We’re back to another box today, or an Octavin to be more precise. This is a cabernet sauvignon from the Central Coast of California. When a wine is labeled as coming from the Central Coast, that usually means that the fruit came from a couple different sources because Central Coast is a broad region (or […]
Muscat, also know as muscatel or moscatel, is a varietal that is produced in many of the major wine growing regions around the world. In Italy the varietal is know as Moscato, and can be produced in either a still or sparkling (frizzante) style. Moscato is used predominantly to make sweet dessert wines that can […]
This weekend is the 21st Cincinnati International Wine Festival, and if you’re in the area I highly recommend checking it out. It’s your chance to sample hundreds of different wines, all in one place. They have tastings on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening. If you want the bargain price, and the smaller crowds, […]
