Boxed wine seems to be taking on new shapes lately with both the shape of the containers and the quality of the wine inside. There are several wines on the shelves these days in what’s been named Octavin packaging. It’s an eight-sided box (an octagon) and is really just a new shape for bag-in-a-box packaging. […]
Ricardo Santos is the former owner of the Norton Winery and thirty-some years ago he was the first wine producer in Argentina to export Malbec. Unless you’re new to wine or have been living under a rock you know that now Argentine wine is almost synonymous with Malbec. Given Santos’ history with Malbec, I was […]
I was actually a little surprised when I saw that Redwood Creek had a Malbec. I typically think of them as producers of Californian wine. After all, the brand name “Redwood” makes you think of northern California. But Redwood Creek is ultimately part of E&J Gallo, who distribute wines from all over the world. You’ll […]
This past week I took part in a Taste Live event featuring Stepping Stone wines from Cornerstone Cellars. Taste Live events are wine tastings where numerous wine bloggers and media from around the country all taste the same wines and share their thoughts via Twitter. Cornerstone Cellars is a Napa Valley, California producer and is […]
You may recognize the logo on this bottle from those tasty Clif Bars you’ve seen, and yes they are related. The folks who make Clif Bars also produce wine, and what I’ve tasted has been pretty good—including this one. We previously reviewed their The Climber Red, which was also good. The Climber White Wine is […]
I have a secret to share. Every time I grab a bottle of Rosé I start singing a song in my head. It’s the music of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” but the lyric is changed to “Don’t Fear the Rosé.” I don’t know how that started or why I keep doing it. […]
Before jumping into the next big series, I thought we’d review some odds and ends. Wines that we’ve received as samples, but are unique enough that we don’t get the quantity needed to do a full series. Today, we’re checking out a Sangiovese from Dievole. Wine production at Dievole dates back to the 12th century […]
Although Viña Carmen has been around since 1850, it was reborn in 1987 when it was acquired by Claro Group. Today, their main vineyards are in Maipo Valley, but they also have vineyards in Rapel, Casablanca and Curicó Valley. And they are one of the top producers in Chile. This wine continues the trend we’ve […]
You might be surprised to find out how many of the wine brands you see on the shelves come from the same company. There are a few giants in the wine business, plus thousands of small wineries. One of the giants whose brands you’ll come across in just about any grocery store that sells wine […]
As a publisher focused on reviewing inexpensive wines, we can’t ignore the “bag in a box” segment, also known as “boxed wine.” We’ve actually reviewed a couple boxed wines before and we’ve found some decent ones out there. Boxed wine doesn’t get much respect. In many ways, that’s deserved. There is some heinous stuff out […]
