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 […]
General Wine
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 […]
25 wines to turn Thanksgiving into a most memorable feast
Here’s the annual Thanksgiving wine list you’ve all been waiting for. Look the selections over, pair a couple with your holiday meal, and enjoy a spectacular day with family and friends. Once again, I want to thank my panel of experts: Andrea DiFiore, store manager and wine director at Andover Classic Wines at the Shawsheen […]
These wines carry bark and bite with flavor
To loyal readers of this column, I always preach that you should buy a wine for what’s inside the bottle and not because you like the fancy label. I must admit, however, I am a sucker for wines featuring dogs on the labels. And yet I’ve never owned a dog in my adult life. Maybe […]
Napa Valley's Trim wins 'best of show' — at $9.99 a bottle
It’s rare when a $9.99 bottle of wine emerges as the “best of show” at a grand tasting event, but Wine ConneXtion co-owner Sam Messina was glad to pin the honor on Napa Valley’s Trim Cabernet Sauvignon two weeks ago. “The winery burnt to the ground in the recent California fires. All the stock went. […]
These wines will have you soaring over the Andes
When the Bousquet family sold its vineyards in the picturesque town of Carcassone in southern France to relocate on uncultivated virgin land high in Argentina’s Andes Mountains foothills, an observer touring the new site asked, “Are you buying a beach? No one’s even grown potatoes here.” Anne Bousquet’s story is charming and true. “The soil […]
Not a fan of the high seas? Try a riverboat (wine helps)
I’ve never been comfortable about being on the high seas, so when my wife suggested we take the first ship cruise of our 26-year marriage, I balked. Then our friends suggested a wine riverboat cruise to Bordeaux — an idea that seemed enticing. The rivers, they said, are mostly shallow. There are no waves, no […]
'Evita' aside, Malbec is Argentina's claim to fame
“What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I mention Argentina?” That’s the question I asked the Wine Goddess, my wife Mary Lee, and she replied, “Eva Peron, the Broadway musical, and the song ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina!’” It’s a good answer, but not the one I was expecting. So I refined […]
