When I taste Italy’s Soave wine, the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet comes to mind. Not because there is anything tragic about drinking Soave; in fact, it’s just the opposite. Soave is a white wine, made from the Garganega grape. It is a clean, light- to medium-bodied white wine that comes from one […]
Author: Jim Campanini
Drinking wine with the Founding Fathers
A few historians have wondered whether the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) were alcoholics. I beg to differ. Life was hard back in the early 18th century and while early Americans loved to drink fortified wines from Portugal and hard cider from stills hidden in the hills, they also had a religious streak which prevented […]
Spanish varietals, Mass. Riesling show vibrancy
I can’t say enough about Spanish wines. They represent a quality bargain and many producers who previously sold in-country as a main source of revenue are now getting U.S. importers to bring their goods to market. The Spanish have some great Old World secrets to share with the world. They’ve been making top quality wines […]
Michael Trujillo: Sequoia Grove wines hitting a natural peak
Sequoia Grove Winery’s Michael Trujillo traces his Spanish roots in America back to the 1560s when ancestors first settled in what is now New Mexico. He is proud to be the son of a Colorado farmer who taught Trujillo to work hard and appreciate the land. “I spent 90 percent of my childhood on a […]
Give a vintage gift for Father's Day – wine
Guess what goes well with a Father’s Day card? A nice bottle of wine. (I hope my kids are reading this.) One of my favorite quotes about wine comes from a passage in Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. He writes: “As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint […]
Popping a cork on clutter
I like to joke that I came into my marriage with the Wine Goddess with a suitcase of clothes and two pair of shoes — one of which I was wearing (black). She, on the other hand, could have outfitted the cast of a Cecil B. DeMille movie. Today, I have one closet and she […]
Time to test your Wine IQ
If you’ve been a regular reader of this column, you should be able to pass this test with ease. All questions are worth 5 points except where specified for multi-part answers. Answers are at the bottom of the column. No peeking. If you score 90 or more points, you’re in the Wine Wizard class. If […]
Chardonnays, white blends make a statement
Here are some my recent tastings that I think you might much to your liking. The Chardonnays and other whites are coming into vogue with the summer months, and I’ll be trying more of these in the weeks ahead. I have listed several here, oaked and unoaked, that are good values. I remain partial to […]
A grand finale that's worthy of a toast
When the Wine Goddess told me several weeks ago she was planning a major announcement I reacted with a simple, inquisitive retort: “Should I break out Champagne, Prosecco, or the 2007 Ledson Cabernet Sauvignon from Anderson Valley?” She was amused. “How do you know if it is worthy of celebration?,” she said. “It could be […]
Drinking to old memories while making delicious new ones
As a young boy, a favorite weekly trip came each Tuesday when mom would lead her twin sons to the “macaroni factory.” Holding hands, we’d make the 10-minute walk from home, past St. Agnes Church, to the old schoolhouse where pasta was produced by the ton. Lowellians over the age of 30 can likely recall […]
