Can white wine be made from red grapes? What is the difference between oaked and unoaked Chardonnay? How do I know what grapes are used in a bottle of French Sancerre? If you want to learn the answers to these questions, and step up your wine-tasting skills, I’ll be teaching two fun courses in April […]
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Part 2: There's a lavish Brunello for most budgets
In a recent column, I wrote about the versatility of the sangiovese grape, and focused on the high end Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino from Tenuta Il Greppo in Tuscany. Biondi-Santi is a collector’s wine, selling for high prices. But you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to enjoy this exquisite and highly revered Italian […]
10 wines to cleanse your post-holiday palate
If your palate needs a bit of reviving after the holidays, here are 10 wines you should consider purchasing right now. Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay 2016, $14.99: This is America’s top-selling brand of Chardonnay, with 300,000 cases produced from Kendall-Jackson’s outstanding California vineyards. The quality and consistency from vintage to vintage remains outstanding, a […]
Biondi-Santi Brunello: Sangiovese at its best
Sangiovese is the most widely planted red grape in Italy and also among the most versatile. It reigns supreme in Tuscany, where sangiovese (translation: blood of Jove or Jupiter) is the primary grape for four distinctly incredible wines: Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile Montepulciano (not to be confused with the southern Italian […]
Prosecco Part Two: Cartizze 'cru' and 4 DOCG delights
So what’s the difference between Prosecco DOC and Prosecco Superiore DOCG sparkling wines? Location, location, location. And a few more production details. The Prosecco DOC classification zone is broader, covering about 44,000 acres under vine in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions around Treviso. Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone is much smaller — only 17,000 […]
Prosecco: Tiny bubbles, BIG flavor
In 2016, the Prosecco DOC consortium in Veneto’s province of Treviso produced 400 million bottles of this beautiful, bubbly wine, mostly in its popular spumante style, and 22 percent of the total wound up in the United States. But that’s not all. In addition, the higher-classification Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG turned out 80 million bottles […]
Merry Manzoni! The 2014 Pinot Noir has finally arrived!
Manzoni Family Estates, located in California’s Salinas Valley, produces just 2,000 cases of wine each year among their portfolio of Pinot Gris, Rosé, Chardonnay, Syrah and Pinot Noir. That’s why few people can get their hands on a single bottle of Manzoni’s precious liquids. One of the core bottlings of this small, family-run operation is […]
From the Wine Novice's notebook
Why not white? Here are two other whites that have captivated the Wine Goddess, Wine Butler and myself over the past several weeks are as follows. Masseria Altemura Fiano Salento, Puglia, $13 — Fiano is an authentic Italian grape that grows in the volcanic soils in Avellino, northeast of Mount Vesuvius, and in the Salento […]
Heard it through the grapevine: Mullineux nearly perfect
Since world-renowned expert Jancis Robinson scored the 2012 Mullineux White Blend 18 points out of a perfect 20, the South African wine has garnered a lot of attention. Wine Enthusiast and Wine Advocate magazines and other rating houses have followed with 90-point scores or higher over the past four vintages. Trouble is, this beautiful wine […]
Fall deliverables: Washington State wines worth waiting for
November is one of my favorite months of the year, when the cooler temperatures herald my wine club FedEx shipments from Washington State. I look forward to the latest vintages from Doubleback, Long Shadows Winery and L’Ecole– all from the Walla Walla region. The wines are unique, limited in quantity, and high in quality. Most […]
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