Wine makers and wine connoisseurs often talk about terroir. This is the idea that the place grapes are grown influences the characteristics of wine produced from those grapes. Many factors go into terroir, like daytime and nighttime temperatures, soil composition, rainfall, sunlight, etc. Some would even argue that people are a part of terroir, which […]
Uruguayan Wine
Familia Deicas, Atlántico Sur Albariño
One of the best strategies for finding great wine at great prices is to focus on regions that are under the radar. What I mean by that is regions that consistently produce good wine, but for whatever reason most people haven’t heard about it yet. Uruguay is one of those regions that I’ve been talking […]
Review: Cerro Del Toro Tannat
Summer is here, which means ’tis the season. No, not the season for crisp, chilled white or rosé wines. Well… I guess that too, but that’s not what I’m writing about today. I’ll get to those soon. What I’m talking about today is it ’tis the season to fire up the grill and make a […]
Review: Pisano, RPF Tannat
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Garzón Tannat and highlighted the fact that seeking wines from ‘under the radar’ wine regions can yield exceptional values. However, I neglected to mention the fact that the grape in this wine, Tannat, could also be considered an ‘under the radar’ grape! Tannat is not as obscure as […]
Review: Garzón Reserva Tannat
I’ve been writing about value wines since 2007 and one reliable trick I’ve used over the years for finding wines of exceptional value is to look for wines from under the radar regions. It comes down to simple supply and demand. If you buy wines from the most well-known wine regions, you’re probably going to […]
Alto de la Ballena, Tannat Viognier
A wine blend you may have come across at some point in your life is Syrah-Viognier. It may not seem intuitive to add a white wine with intense, perfume-like aromas (i.e., Viognier) to a full-bodied red wine with concentrated dark fruit, spice and tannic characteristics (i.e., Syrah), but it works… really well. The Viognier, which […]
Review: Bracco Bosca, Ombú, Moscatel
You may have heard of Moscatel, also known as Muscatel, Muscat or Muscat of Alexandria. You may have even tasted one before. But it’s unlikely that you’ve had one like this! Moscatel, Muscat or whatever you prefer to call it, is typically vinified into a sweet wine. It’s also one of the grapes used to […]
Giménez Méndez Alta Reserva Tannat
How much do you know about Uruguay? I have to admit, until recently I didn’t know much about Uruguay, other than the fact that it’s a small country on the Atlantic coast of South America, south of Brazil. One of the side effects of being a wine geek, who loves to try wine from different […]