It’s time to check in on a new vintage of a wine that is on my list reliably-good, bargain favorites. The Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Blanc Côtes du Roussillon from Michel Chapoutier. It’s been a few years since I reviewed this wine, the last vintage I reviewed was the 2014 and they’re up to the 2017 […]
Wine Regions
Lugana — Italian white wines you’ll love
A few weeks ago, at the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference, I had a chance to taste some wines from Lugana DOC, a wine region in northern Italy. It’s not the first time I’ve tasted wines from Lugana, and hopefully it won’t be the last. I can say with absolute certainty that every wine I’ve tried […]
Discovering value in Red Mountain wine
Every year I try to travel to one or two wine regions I haven’t previously visited and this year I had the opportunity to go to wine country in Washington state to seek out some new wines. This brought me to the Red Mountain AVA, where the Red Mountain Alliance showed me and some fellow […]
Casillero del Diablo, Red Blend – Boldness in a bottle
Red blends seem to be all the rage over the past few years for wine lovers on a budget who want red wine with big flavors. By doing a blend, winemakers have more opportunities to shape the wine into something they think will resonate with consumers. Add a little bit of this and a little […]
Peter Zemmer, Rolhüt, Pinot Noir = Amazing
Autumn is upon us and it is therefore pinot noir season. Why? Because that’s what I’m in the mood for. Until I’m in the mood for something else, of course. And what I’m usually in the mood for is a good bargain. Many a wine snob will tell you there is no such thing as […]
P.J. Valckenberg, Riesling
It’s time for another riesling. Of course, anytime is a good time for riesling. This one comes from the Rheinhessen region — the largest of Germany’s 13 wine regions. The producer, P.J. Valckenberg, based in Worms am Rhein, has been producing wines since 1786. They were one of the first producers in Germany to export their […]
Feravino, Dika, Graševina
Croatia has been on my radar for quite some time. Both as a place I’d like to visit someday and a wine region I’d like to taste more and learn more about. I’ve tasted a couple Croatian wines over the years, but this is the first review I’ve done of one. I don’t see Croatian […]
Gran Reserva Serie Riberas, Carmenere
A couple weeks ago I wrote about a carmenere from Concha y Toro under their Marques de Casa Concha brand that really hit the mark. In that post I commented about my general avoidance of carmenere due to it often being disappointing. But now here I am a couple weeks later singing praises for another […]
Schmitt’s Kinder, Rosé, Trocken
If you’ve been reading this site for long it’s probably no surprise to you that I love German wine. It’s also probably no surprise that I love rosé. But it was surprising to me that I have never, until now, reviewed a German rosé. And oh, what a fine rosé this is! This one is […]
Marques de Casa Concha, Carmenere
When I first learned about carmenere several years ago I was enchanted. The idea that this Bordeaux grape, which was thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in South America is a great story. Although I was enchanted, I soon found myself avoiding carmenere due to quality issues. In addition to being a rediscovered grape, it’s […]