Wine reviews and wine recommendations
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The Champlain Valley has a fascinating story. This physiographic province lies in Vermont, New York State and Quebec. Geologically, it is in a complex region of uplifted ancient rocks on both sides. Like most of the northern reaches of the USA, it was transformed by glaciers during the ice ages and was even a salt-water […] The post Investigating the Champlain Valley: A New Winegrowing Region in…
White wine has been ticking up in sales for some time, and many regions traditionally associated with red wine are responding to this rising interest with new plantings of white grapes. Some are finding a new potential for white wine not just in the marketplace, but in terms of wine styles and winemaking. Perhaps one […] The post White Port: Rising from a Curiosity for Cocktails to New Heights of…
I was midway through researching this column when The New Yorker published its thoughtful essay, “Don’t Forget Your Wine Mom This Midterm Season.” The piece explores how the “wine mom” has become a recognizable political archetype – another demographic to poll, persuade, analyze, and debate. It is an excellent premise and an important contribution to […] The post Reclaiming the Narrative of the…
Of all the traits associated with fine wine, few are as unusual as the so-called petrol- or kerosene-like notes found in mature Riesling. Diehard fans of the variety consider these distinctive aromas part of its mystique, but if one mentions detecting those same hints of petrol in a young Riesling to the winemaker and you […] The post Climate Change and Riesling’s “Petrol” Problem appeared first…
So, I’m having dinner at Six Paupers, a casual restaurant with good casual food, and I’m checking the wine-by-the-glass menu to see if there might be something interesting to drink there with my steak and potatoes or my wife’s vegetarian lasagna. My choices are Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon, Canyon Road Merlot, Josh Cellars Cabernet, Lindemans […] The post “And Would You Like Your Wine Served…
I’ll bet that some of you – like the Old Professor – received offers this past week that caught your attention. Some perhaps that really caught your attention. One from an estate I’ve long known that got me to talking with friends both in the trade and among fellow enthusiasts involved … wines from the […] The post What I’ve Been Drinking Lately: Value Wines, Still Flowing from France appeared…
When I landed in Copenhagen this summer with my husband and five-year-old daughter, the restaurant that helped change fine dining world-wide wasn’t serving dinner. For more than two decades, Noma shaped the global conversation around food. It inspired chefs across continents, elevated foraging from curiosity to culinary philosophy, and transformed Denmark’s capital into a destination […] The post…
It’s not just you: wine is pricier than it used to be. Demand skyrocketed during COVID, and price with it, especially in emerging markets like China. Market research by Gaeta & Pirali suggests an equivalent bottle of wine from 2019 is now 30% more expensive. But now a pull-back in drinking has left the industry […] The post Suffocated Domestically, Suffocated Abroad: The Choking Effect of Wine’s…
Recently a friend joined me and my wife for a long-anticipated reunion at the Ladera Grill in Morgan Hill, California. Although both of them are experienced wine professionals and know their wines, they let me select a wine. My eyes went to a white I recently tasted recently and favorably reviewed favorably. But it was […] The post Thinking Outside the Bottle…and Tapping into Sustainability…
Keeping in step with the worldwide push to define the origins of food stuffs, Italian wine authorities have identified 11 subzones of Chianti Classico called UGAs, Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (Additional Geographical Units). Think of them like village appellations, such as Gevrey-Chambertin or Beaune, in Burgundy or like subregions of Napa Valley, such as Oakville or […] The post Unraveling…
